The Evaluation of Roentgen Therapy in the Management of Non-Resectable Carcinoma of the Lung

¹ The Department of Radiology and Surgery, Veterans Administration Hospital, and Baylor University College of Medicine.

The records of 225 patients with non-resectable carcinomas of the lung were reviewed. One hundred and three were given treatment with roentgen therapy, while 122 had only supportive therapy. All were dead at the time of the study, the longest survival time being 42 months. Patients treated with x-ray lived an average of 5.2 months as compared with a survival of 1.9 months in the untreated cases. In treated patients symptoms were partially or completely relieved in 70 per cent. It is concluded that x-ray therapy is a valuable agent in the control of symptoms in inoperable carcinoma of the lung and may, at times, result in prolongation of life.