Radiotherapy dosing for locally advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma: "MTD" or "ALARA"?

Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) is typically treated with thoracic radiotherapy, often in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Despite tremendous advances in the evaluation, treatment techniques, and supportive care measures provided to LA-NSCLC patients, local disease progression and distant metastases frequently develop following definitive therapy. A recent landmark randomized trial demonstrated that radiotherapy dose escalation may reduce survival rates, highlighting our poor understanding of the effects of thoracic radiotherapy for LA-NSCLC. Here, we present rationale for further studies of radiotherapy dose escalation as well as arguments for exploring relatively low radiotherapy doses for LA-NSCLC.