Lung cancer can be effectively controlled with a higher dose of radiotherapy, with weekends off to recover. Standard treatment for lung cancer involves a daily dose of radiotherapy five days a week, for six weeks. But better results have been found from a more intensive programme known as CHART which uses three doses a day for 12 days. Now researchers at the Mount Vernon Hospital, Middlesex, England, have taken CHART further.
Using computer models, they suggested that a higher dose of radiotherapy, over 18 days, with weekends off to recover, would give patients a better chance. This was borne out in practice. In a related study, the researchers learned that the remission rates increased from 45 per cent to 60 per cent while combining the new regime with chemotherapy.Lung cancer gets better with new radiotherapy rule
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