Dose –volume predictors of early esophageal toxicity in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with accelerated-hyperfractionated radiotherapy

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common malignant diseases worldwide [4]. Simultaneous radiochemotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced lung cancer yields better outcome than radiotherapy alone [8]. While this treatment regimen is the standard of care, it is also evoking more side effects [8,13]. One of the frequent side effects is early radiation-induced esophageal toxicity (RIET), which can be a reason for treatment interruptions. Complete avoidance of esophagus irradiation in lung cancer radiotherapy is impossible due to several factors: the large, irregularly shaped and centrally located lung cancer, frequent involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes (LN), and the central location and length of the esophagus [2,14].
Source: Radiotherapy and Oncology - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research