Predictors of Radiation Pneumonitis in Locally Advanced Lung Cancer Treated With Chemoradiation

Lung cancer \[LC\] is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The standard treatment of locally advanced lung cancer unresectable or marginally resectable is combination therapy with radical or preoperative chemoradiation. The local control rates and survival with this treatment modality have increased by more than 30%. Radiotherapy \[RT\] with technical molded 3D \[3D-CRT, Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy\] or IMRT \[intensity-modulated radiation therapy\] has allowed that the total dose of radiation has increased which leads to a direct benefit on the results treatment. Between 17-30% of patients are susceptible to pneumonitis due to radiation \[NR\]. This complication may appear at the end of the RT or up to 6 months after the treatment. In severe cases, mortality can reach 50%. It's well known that in various diseases, functional abnormalities precede the clinical manifestations. The degree of pulmonary failure secondary to RT is measured following the standards of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group who ranks in degrees \[0 to 4\]. Not precisely known factors that influence the development of NR.