ABSTRACT
Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality in the United States, accounting for approximately 219,000 new diagnoses and 159,000 deaths in 2009. Lung cancer accounts for more deaths than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined (Jemal et al. 2009). Radiation therapy remains one of the main treatment options for lung cancer. Overall, the outcomes with radiation therapy alone for unresectable lung cancer are poor, with 5-year survival rate of approximately 5%–15% (Jemal et al. 2009; Dosoretz et al. 1996; Coy and Kennelly 1980; Dosoretz et al. 1993; Armstrong and Minsky 1989; Dosoretz et al. 1992; Kaskowitz et al. 1993). Technical di›culties for thoracic irradiation and radiation-induced toxicities are among the challenges that hinder improvements in treatment outcomes. Adaptive radiation therapy (ART) is being developed to address these challenges. By adapting to the speci£c anatomical and biological properties of a given patient or tumor, ART has the potential to deliver individualized treatments.
