Twice-Daily Compared with Once-Daily Thoracic Radiotherapy in Limited Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treated Concurrently with Cisplatin and Etoposide

Four cycles of cisplatin plus etoposide and a course of radiotherapy (45 Gy, given either once or twice daily) beginning with cycle 1 of the chemotherapy resulted in overall two- and five-year survival rates of 44 percent and 23 percent, a considerable improvement in survival rates over previous results in patients with limited small-cell lung cancer.