The survival of patients with inoperable lung cancer: a large-scale randomized study of radiation therapy versus placebo.

The death toll from lung cancer, particularly for the American male in the prime of life, is beginning to approach the dimensions of a national calamity. This year we may expect 55,000 new cases and 50,000 deaths, of which 42,000 will be in males and 8,000 in females (1). Lung cancer is already responsible for 1 out of 4 deaths from cancer in men. It is imperative, therefore, that a dependable assessment be made of the patient's outlook for survival according to the stage of the disease and the therapeutic modality employed. Guide lines for such an assessment may be drawn from retrospective long-range survival studies in a single institution or center. More dependable answers can be derived from planned, prospective large-scale studies involving many patients, strict randomization with concurrent controls, and strong biostatistical support. In the hospital system of the Veterans Administration (VA), which supports 170,000 beds, nearly all the patients are males, and a large percentage are cigarette smoker...