A Randomized Phase III Comparison of Standard-Dose (60 Gy) Versus High-Dose (74 Gy) Conformal Radiotherapy with Concurrent and Consolidation Carboplatin/Paclitaxel in Patients with Stage IIIA/IIIB Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (RTOG 0617)

UVA Health System, Department of Radiation Oncology, seeks Women and Men, age 18 or older, with Stage IIA/IIIB non-small cell lung cancer for research study.

Lung Cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Approximately 75-80% of all cases are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The currently accepted standard of care for patients with NSCLC is radiation plus chemotherapy.

The purpose of the study is to compare the effects, both good and bad, of high dose radiation therapy with standard dose radiation therapy on you and your Stage III non-small cell lung cancer to find out which is better. In this study, participants will get either the high-dose or the standard-dose radiation therapy. Participants will not get both. Everyone will get chemotherapy with the same drug combination and schedule, consisting of paclitaxel and carboplatin.

The study involves the same physical exams, CT/MRI scans, lab work and chemotherapy that you would receive if you were not on a study. The difference will be that you will be randomly assigned to receive either high dose radiation therapy or the standard dose of radiation therapy. The total time you will receive treatment is approximately 14 weeks or 16 1/2 weeks, depending on the treatment arm to which you are assigned. You would also be asked to complete a Quality of Life questionnaire four times over the course of two years.

Compensation

No compensation is provided for this study.