Effects ofprognostic parameters and radiotherapy on survival of patients with pulmonary cancer

Aim. To analyze factors influencing expected survival of pulmonary cancer (PC) patients given radiotherapy, i.e. age of the patient, stage of the disease, size of the tumor, involvement of the lymph nodes, a total focal dose, space distribution of the dose. Material and methods. Among PC patients 87% were males and 73.9% were 60 years of age and older. Local PC (stage Ilia and IUb) was diagnosed in 65.2%. Non-small-cell PC was in 83.8%. Effects of radiotherapy on the survival was analysed in 115 patients. Total focal doses made up 30 Gy (3.0 Gy/10fractions) to 70 Gy (2.0 Gy/35fractions). Results. Longer survival was achieved after irradiation with greater dose and modern three-dimentional planning ofconformic radiotherapy. A significant prolongation of the survival was seen in raising the total focal dose to 50 Gy. There is a correlation between the dose and conformity of the dose distribution. During the study 58.2% patients died. Conclusion. Assessment of the survival of PC patients given radiotherapy has shown that negative prognostic factors are the following: PC stage IIIA, IHB and IV, extensive local spread of the tumor, large primary tumor, involvement of the lymph nodes.