Topics:
Lung Cancer • Radiation Oncology • Thoracic Malignancies • Non-small cell lung cancer • Small cell lung cancer • Pulmonology
How important is a severely diminished diffusion capacity in determining whether to offer a lung cancer patient radiotherapy?
Does it factor into your decision making in the setting of restricted spirometry and normal lung volumes? Does this differ for SBRT v. chemoRT?
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
Conventionally, Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are considered essential before considering thoracic surgery and by extension this rule has applied to definitive radiation. This is because baseline pulmonary function (PF) can predict the risk of pulmonary complications after thoracotomy, and patient...
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