Radiation therapy dose escalation for concurrent chemoradiation

With improvement in radiation therapy–delivery technology in the 1990s, including tumor-motion management and image guidance, phase I/II trials demonstrated the feasibility of dose-escalation radiation therapy to 74 Gy with concurrent chemotherapy.[41-43] However, a phase III trial of a conventional dose of 60 Gy versus dose escalation to 74 Gy with concurrent weekly carboplatin/paclitaxel did not demonstrate improved local control or PFS, and OS was worse with dose escalation (HR, 1.38 [1.09–1.76]; P = .004). There was a nonsignificant increase in grade 5 events with dose escalation (10% vs. 2%) and higher incidence of grade 3 esophagitis (21% vs. 7%; P = .0003). Thus, there is no clear benefit in radiation dose escalation beyond 60 Gy for stage III NSCLC.[44][Level of evidence A1]