A narrative review of evolving roles of radiotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: from palliative care to active player.

ABSTRACT: Radiotherapy, along with other loco-regional interventions, is conventionally utilized as a palliative approach to alleviate symptoms and mitigate oncological emergencies in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Thanks to the ongoing improvement of medical treatments in the last decade, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy, the survival of patients with advanced NSCLC has been considerably prolonged, making it feasible and clinically beneficial for radiotherapy to play a more active role in highly selected subpopulations. In this review, we will focus on the evolving roles of radiotherapy in advanced NSCLC. First of all, among patients who are initially unable to tolerate aggressive treatment due to severe symptoms caused by metastases and/or tumor emergencies, timely radiothe

SUBMITTER: Zhou Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7815368 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature