Dr. Nasser Hanna, Indiana University Health, discusses the possible role of immunotherapy in locally advanced NSCLC.

Dr. Nasser Hanna, Indiana University Health, lists chemo regiments appropriate for use with radiation in locally advanced NSCLC.

Dr. Nasser Hanna, Indiana University Health, reviews efforts to utilize targeted therapies as consolidation after chemoradiation in locally advanced NSCLC.

Dr. Nasser Hanna, Indiana University Health, considers the use of induction or consolidation chemotherapy for unresectable stage III NSCLC.

Dr. Nasser Hanna, Indiana University Health, discusses the development of chemoradiation as a standard of care for unresectable stage III NSCLC.

Dr. Mark Socinski, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, compares the use of chemotherapy to chemo/radiation in the preoperative setting in stage IIIA lung cancer.

Dr. Mark Socinski, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, describes the primary treatment options for stage IIIA NSCLC, including chemoradiation and surgery, and discusses trial evidence for each approach.

Dr. West reviews basic principles of treating locally advanced lung cancer, including the need to treat both local disease and possible distant disease, and the need to balance efficacy with toxicity.

There are many open questions in managing lung cancer, but one of our historical areas that has been especially challenging has been locally advanced/stage III NSCLC, which we most commonly treat with at least two different forms of therapy, such as chemotherapy followed by surgery, chemo and radiation followed by surgery, or (most commonly) chemotherapy and radiation without surgery. Why is it such a controversial area?

Here's a text-heavy but still brief summary "slidedoc" of what I would consider to be the core principles of managing locally advanced, or stage III, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This is a heterogeneous population that accounts for about 40% of the patients newly diagnosed with NSCLC, with some having far more extensive and bulky disease than others.  Though individual treatment recommendations should be made by the physicians directly reviewing the details of a patient's case, the key principles still govern the overall plan.