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Surgical resection is generally chosen to treat patients with stages IA to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer. However, some patients cannot tolerate surgical intervention because of concomitant illnesses, such as severe pulmonary emphysema or coronary artery diseases. We have treated such patients with radiation therapy using the proton beam, which has been used successfully to treat several other malignant diseases.^1-4 The proton beam has a Bragg peak that can limit distribution of the beam,² which reduces radiation to nontargeted areas while increasing radiation to the target.

We have treated 14 patients (mean [±SD] age, 71 ± 10 years; 10 men and 4 women) with non–small cell lung cancer with radiation therapy using the proton beam. All the patients were treated only with proton beam therapy. Eight of the patients were in clinical stages⁵ IA to IB of the disease, 2 were in stages IIA to IIB, and 4 were in . . . [Full Text of this Article]