BACKGROUND: While surgery is considered standard of care for early stage (I/II), @entity1149 ( @entity1149 ), radiotherapy is a widely accepted alternative for medically unfit @entity1 or those who refuse surgery. International guidelines recommend several treatment options, comprising stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for small @entity5 , conventional radiotherapy >=    60  Gy for larger sized especially centrally located lesions or @entity138 ( @entity138 ). This study presents clinical outcome and @entity137 for @entity1 treated with a dose-differentiated accelerated schedule using 1.8  Gy bid (DART-bid). @entity1 AND METHODS: Between April 2002 and December 2010, 54 @entity1 (median age 71  years, median Karnofsky performance score 70   %) were treated for early stage @entity1149 . Total doses were applied according to @entity5 diameter: 73.8  Gy for <      2.5  cm, 79.2  Gy for 2.5-4.5  cm, 84.6  Gy for 4.5-6  cm, 90  Gy for >   6  cm. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 28.5  months (range 2-108  months); actuarial local control (LC) at 2 and 3  years was 88   %, while regional control was 100   %. There were 10  @entity1 (19   %) who died of the @entity5 , and 18  @entity1 (33   %) died due to cardiovascular or pulmonary causes. A total of 11  @entity1 (20   %) died intercurrently without evidence of progression or treatment-related @entity137 at the last follow-up, while 15  @entity1 (28   %) are alive. @entity697  <=      grade 2 occurred in 7  cases, 2 @entity1 developed grade  2 chronic @entity3794 . CONCLUSION: DART-bid yields high LC without significant @entity137 . For centrally located and/or large (>   5  cm) early stage @entity5 , where SBRT is not feasible, this method might serve as radiotherapeutic alternative to present treatment recommendations, with the need of confirmation in larger cohorts.

DART-bid: dose-differentiated accelerated radiation therapy, 1.8  Gy twice daily : High local control in early stage (I/II) XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'PATIENTS'] @entity137 :: ('MESH:D064420', 'Disease') :: ['toxicity'] @entity697 :: ('MESH:D000208', 'Disease') :: ['Acute esophagitis'] @entity138 :: ('MESH:C563738', 'Disease') :: ['continuous hyperfractionated accelerated RT', 'CHART'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor', 'tumors'] @entity1149 :: ('MESH:D002289', 'Disease') :: ['NSCLC', 'non-small-cell lung cancer'] @entity3794 :: ('MESH:D011658', 'Disease') :: ['pulmonary fibrosis']
@entity1149 :: (MESH:D002289,Disease) :: ['non-small-cell lung cancer']
