According to recent research conducted by Mount Sinai School of Medicine, post-operative radiation therapy for lung cancer may not prolong life in older people with locally advanced disease.
The treatment is as a very controversial method of treating the disease. The standard procedure for patients with non-small cell lung cancer is to have surgery to remove the tumor.
"While some analyses have shown improvement with PORT, the data are not strong enough to support using it as a standard of care in older adults with this type of lung cancer," said Juan Wisnivesky, vice-chair for research in the department of medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "Our results show that we need more information about the potential benefits of radiation therapy before it is used routinely to treat these patients, especially considering the side effects associated with it."
According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 373,000 Americans have been diagnosed with lung cancer, which might spur others to secure a life insurance policy to prepare for any healthcare costs in the future.