Lung cancer represents the leading cancer killer of both women and men. The estimated number of deaths due to lung cancer in the United States for 1996 was 158,700<sup>40 Parker S.L., Tong T., Bolden S. , e al. Cancer Statistics, 1996 CA Cancer J Clin 1996 ;  46 : 5  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> and continues to escalate. Given the 5-year survival of about 13%, it is apparent that a large number of patients with lung cancer require palliative treatment.

The goals of palliative treatment are to improve the quality of life for patients by ameliorating symptoms and thereby improving their functional status and emotional well-being. These goals are best reached through interactive decision-making with the individual patient. Before embarking on palliative treatment it is important to establish the following: (1) define the objective of therapy; (2) determine that the symptom in question is caused by the metastatic lesion; (3) propose a therapy that has a reasonable likelihood of improving the symptom and will avoid undue toxicity; and (4) consider the patient's overall condition and wishes. Radiation therapy (RT) is an effective means of palliation of both primary intrathoracic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and metastatic NSCLC to bone and brain. This review will discuss the indications, efficacy, and techniques of palliative RT for NSCLC.