This paper is to report our study on the indications and limitations of radiotherapy of adenocarcinoma of the lung based on the results of five-year survivors among the cases of unresectable adenocarcinoma.
Material consisted of 341 cases of adenocarcinoma of the lung treated with radiotherapy at the National Cancer Center Hospital between May, 1962 and June, 1982. Histopathological diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy in all the cases. Among these 341 cases, 11 patients survived for more than 5 years. Analyzing these 11 cases according to the TNM classification of the UICC, 9 cases were stage I, 2 cases were stage III, and there were no long-term surviving stage II or IV cases. Of the 11 cases 3 cases are presently alive.
Analyzing the 8 fatal cases, 2 succumbed due to brain metastasis following local recurrence and 2 cases had double primary cancer of thyroid cancer and lung cancer.
The remaining 4 cases did not show recurrence or metastasis and succumbed due to pneumonia.
