Simultaneous Cisplatin Fluorouracil Infusion and Radiation Followed by Surgical Resection in Regionally Localized Stage III, Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract Sixty-four patients with stage III (M 0 ) non–small cell lung cancel were treated with cisplatin fluorouracil infusion chemotherapy and simultaneous radiation therapy for 5 days every other week. A total of 4 cycles (40 Gy) was followed by attempted surgical resection. Clinical response to the preoperative treatment included 5 (8%) complete and 32 (48%) partial responses. Thirty-nine (61%) underwent the planned operation, and in 9 (23%) of these patients the resected specimens were histologically negative. Clinical assessment failed to predict histological response. With 17 months median follow-up (range, 2.4–29 months), estimated 1-year survival was 61% and median survival was 16 months for all patients.