Twee patiënten met gevorderd niet-kleincellig longcarcinoom (stadium IIIB) en toch een zeer goede reactie op gecombineerde chemo- en radiotherapie

- In two patients, men aged 58 and 47 years respectively, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (stage IIIB) with mediastinal and supraclavicular lymph-node metastases was diagnosed. Both patients had a good performance score despite the seriousness of their tumours. They were treated with chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy and the treatment was well tolerated. In the patient aged 47 years, lobectomy was performed one year later for a second primary carcinoma. Both patients were still disease-free 5 years after treatment. Although not every patient with stage IIIB lung cancer will respond so well to combined treatment, these cases illustrate that intensive treatment may be recommended for selected patients. The final therapeutic advice has to be made by a multidisciplinary team. If the treatment chosen includes both chemotherapy and radiotherapy then careful scheduling is required.

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2005;149:1289-93