Postresection irradiation for primary lung cancer.

A total of 219 patients with proved lung cancer were studied to determine whether postresection irradiation improves survival. The results showed that postresection irradiation improved survival among patients with hilar and mediastinal lymph-node metastases of all histological types but did not improve survival among patients without node metastases. The authors recommend that patients with resectable lung cancer involving the hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes be treated by a combination of surgery and radiotherapy.