Radiotherapy, local control and survival in lung cancer.

Better local control in locally advanced IIIA-B non small cell lung cancer, not considered for surgery, can be achieved through therapy intensification with non conventional fractionation of radiation dose, concomitant boost to the tumor volume, conformal therapy and combined modality therapy. All these procedures tend to produce an improved response, which, if stable in time, may also improve local control and survival. The reported experiences define a positive and encouraging trend on which new guidelines for a more suitable definition of standard therapies for the disease can be modulated.