It's technically feasible, but it would not normally be pursued. When lung cancer has spread from one lung to the other, there are cancer cells in the bloodstream which are extremely likely to appear somewhere else. That's why systemic treatment, such as chemotherapy or targeted therapy, is favored - you're treating not only the cancer that can be seen but the circulating tumor cells that aren't imaged on scans. Radiating both lungs is extremely unlikely to lead to a cure, and the cost of that approach is that the side effects of having both lungs radiated, either at the same time or over a short interval of time, are likely to be quite difficult.
Reply # - May 10, 2016, 11:53 AM
Hi al99,
Hi al99,
It's technically feasible, but it would not normally be pursued. When lung cancer has spread from one lung to the other, there are cancer cells in the bloodstream which are extremely likely to appear somewhere else. That's why systemic treatment, such as chemotherapy or targeted therapy, is favored - you're treating not only the cancer that can be seen but the circulating tumor cells that aren't imaged on scans. Radiating both lungs is extremely unlikely to lead to a cure, and the cost of that approach is that the side effects of having both lungs radiated, either at the same time or over a short interval of time, are likely to be quite difficult.
JimC
Forum moderator