Abstract
Radiotherapy plays a crucial role in the treatment of lung cancer, whether designed as part of a potentially curative treatment plan or intended as palliative therapy to suppress symptoms such as haemoptysis, dyspnoea due to bronchial obstruction, or chronic pain. Radiotherapy, with either curative or palliative intent, should be used for the treatment of up to 76 % of all patients at some stage of the disease, while, in the Czech Republic, only 20–24 % of lung cancer patients actually receive radiotherapy every year.
To optimise the therapeutic procedure in every patient, a radiotherapist should be a member of the multidisciplinary diagnostic-therapeutic team and take part in decision making about the treatment strategy at the very beginning of the treatment.