Advances in radiotherapy technology for non-small cell lung cancer: What every general practitioner should know.

BACKGROUND Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death in Australia. Radiotherapy plays an important role in the curative and palliative settings. OBJECTIVE This article reviews recent technological advances that have expanded the radiotherapy treatment options available, and presents standard and emerging approaches to NSCLC. DISCUSSION General practitioners play an integral role in the care and education of patients during diagnosis, treatment and
follow-up of NSCLC. Stereotactic (ablative) body radiotherapy,
intensity-modulated radiotherapy, intracranial radiosurgery and hippocampal-avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy are discussed in this article.