Radical radiotherapy for stage I/II non-small cell lung cancer in patients not sufficiently fit for or declining surgery (medically inoperable)

Abstract

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: The main objective of this review is to summarise evidence of treatment effectiveness and associated morbidity with the purpose of assisting those involved in making treatment decisions. This update will build on the previous version (Rowell 2001a) but additionally will explore the relationship between the quality of evidence included in the review and reported outcomes. The aim of subgroup analysis will be to determine whether there are patient subgroups for whom radiotherapy may result in a better or worse outcome (in absolute terms) or for whom there may be an unacceptable degree of treatment morbidity. This update also differs from the previous version in including patients treated with stereotactic radiotherapy, in redefining radical radiotherapy as a dose of 50Gy or more (previously 40Gy) and in not including patients with T3N0 tumours (stage IIB; UICC 2002) which in some situations would now be treated with chemoradiotherapy (NCCN 2012). Endobronchial brachytherapy or the use of sequential or concurrent chemotherapy remain outside the scope of this review.