Introduction: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and causes approximately 1–2 million deaths per year. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for at least 80% of all lung cancer cases, presenting as locally advanced disease in approximately 25–30% of cases and as metastatic disease in approximately 40–50% of cases.

Aim of the work: The aims & objectives of this study was to study the improvement in Health Related Quality Of Life, treatment related side-effects and overall survival..

Patients and Methods: A prospective clinical study included 60 patients who were randomly assigned into two groups; group (A) 30 patients received RT regimen of 5 fractions of 4 Gy over 2 weeks to a total dose of 30 Gy, and group (B) 30 patients received RT regimen of two fractions of 8.5 Gy days 1 and 8 to a total dose of 17 Gy..

Results: The hypo fractionated RT regimens used in this study proved to be equally effective as the more protracted regimen in terms of treatment tolerance, HRQOL, and overall survival. This may hopefully convince at least some radiation oncologists still using more protracted regimens to adopt this simple and efficient treatment.

1. Parkin DM (2001) Global cancer statistics in the year 2000. Lancet Oncol 2:533–543
2. Durrant KR, Berry RJ, Ellis F, Ridehalgh FR, Black JM, Hamilton WS (1971) Comparison of treatment policies in inoperable bronchial carcinoma. Lancet 1: 715–719
3. Kowalska T (1992) Wyniki paliatywnej teleradioterapii chorych naniedrobnok-omo´rkowego raka płuca. Nowotwory 42: 359– 366
4. Drozd-Lula M, Jassem J, Karnicka-Mlodkowska H.. Effect of radiotherapy on quality of survival in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Abstracts of the 4th Central European Lung Cancer Conference, A156. 1996
5. Hansen HH (2002) Treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.BMJ 325: 452–453
6. Medical Research Council Lung Cancer Working Party (1991) Inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a Medical Research Council randomised trial of palliative radiotherapy with two fractions or ten fractions. Report to the Medical Research Council by its Lung Cancer Working Party. Br J Cancer 63: 265–270
7. Teo P, Tai TH, Choy D, Tsui KH (1988) A randomized study on palliative radiation therapy for inoperable non small cell carcinoma of the lung. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 14: 867–871
8. Gaze M, Kelly C, Kerr G, Cull A, MacDougall R (2001) Fractionated thoracic radiotherapy gives better symptom relief in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Eur J Cancer 37(Suppl 6): S29
9. Bezjak A, Dixon P, Brundage M, Tu D, Palmer MJ, Blood P, Grafton C, Lochrin C, Leong C, Mulroy L, Smith C, Wright J, Pater JL (2002) Randomized phase III trial of single versus fractionated thoracic radiation in the palliation of patients with lung cancer (NCIC CTG SC.15). Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 54: 719–728
10. Stout R, Barber P, Burt P, Hopwood P, Swindell R, Hodgetts J, Lomax L (2000) Clinical and quality of life outcomes in the first United Kingdom randomized trial of endobronchial brachytherapy (intraluminal radiotherapy) vs external beam radiotherapy in the palliative treatment of inoperable non-small cell lung cancer. Radiother Oncol 56: 323–327
11. Sundstrom S, Bremnes R, Aasebo U, Aamdal S, Hatlevoll R, Brunsvig P, Johannessen DC, Klepp O, Fayers PM, Kaasa S (2004) Hypofractionated palliative radiotherapy (17 Gy per two fractions) in advanced non-smallcell lung carcinoma is comparable to standard fractionation for symptom control and survival: a national phase III trial. J Clin Oncol 22: 801–810.
12. Reinfuss M, Glinski B, Kowalska T, Kulpa J, Zawila K, Reinfuss K, Dymek P, Herman K, Skolyszewski J (1999) Radiotherapy for stage III, inoperable, asymptomatic small cell lung cancer. Final results of a prospective randomized study (240 patients)]. Cancer Radiother 3: 475–479.
13. Falk SJ, Girling DJ, White RJ, Hopwood P, Harvey A, Qian W, Stephens RJ (2002) Immediate versus delayed palliative thoracic radiotherapy inpatients with unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer andminimal thoracic symptoms: randomised controlled trial. BMJ 325: 465
14. Rees GJ, Devrell CE, Barley VL, Newman HF (1997) Palliative radiotherapy for lung cancer: two versus five fractions. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 9: 90–95
15. Stephens RJ, Hopwood P, Girling DJ (1999) Defining and analyzing symptom palliation in cancer clinical trials: a deceptively difficult exercise. Br J Cancer 79: 538–544
16. Roswit B, Patno ME, Rapp R, Veinbergs A, Feder B, Stuhlbarg J, Reid CB (1968) The survival of patients with inoperable lung cancer: a large-scalen randomized study of radiation therapy versus placebo. Radiology 90: 688–697
17. Abratt RP, Shepherd LJ, Salton DG (1995) Palliative radiation for stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer – a prospective study of two moderately high dose regimens. Lung Cancer 13: 137–143

Sofi Mushtaq Ahmad

Senior Resident, Department of Radiation Oncology SKIMS Soura Srinagar

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., M.No:09858811647