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Radiation therapy alone

Source: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute.

Source updated: May 15, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.

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Context: Treatment of Stage IIIA NSCLC / Treatment Options for Superior Sulcus Tumors

While radiation therapy is an integral part of the treatment of Pancoast tumors, variations in dose, treatment technique, and staging that were used in various published series make it difficult to determine its effectiveness.[63,64]

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Small, retrospective series of radiation therapy in patients who were only clinically staged have reported 5-year survival rates of 0% to 40%, depending on T stage, total radiation dose, and other prognostic factors. Induction radiation therapy and en bloc resection was shown to be potentially curative.

Evidence (radiation therapy):

In the preoperative setting, a dose of 45 Gy over 5 weeks is generally recommended, while a dose of approximately 61 Gy is required when using definitive radiation therapy as the primary modality.[63,64]

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Preserved source evidence · Not medical advice