OBJECTIVE Radiation-induced lung injury commonly follows radiotherapy (RT) fortumors within and near the thorax. Lung function is usually measured by pulmonary function tests (PFTs). But RT-induced regional changes of pulmonary function cannot be accurately evaluated by PFTs. Lung perfusion scintigraphy compared with other radiographic methods can assess well regional pulmonary physiological function, and a 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy planning system can quantitatively calculate irradiation dosage. The purpose of this study is to assess, by lung perfusion scintigraphy, early changes in the pulmonary function of patients with lung cancer when receiving thoracic 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT).METHODS Nineteen patients receiving thoracic 3D-CRT for lung cancer were studied. A single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)lung perfusion scan, X-ray or CT scan before RT and after 40～50Gy radiation were performed. Pre-RT SPECT lung perfusion images were classified by comparing lung perfusion defects with radiological abnormalities before RT. Grade 0: There was no lung perfusion defect in the area of radiological abnormality. Grade 1: The size of the radiological abnormality was similar to the area of the lung perfusion defect. Grade 2: The area of the lung perfusion defect was bigger than the size of the radiological abnormality and extended to one lobe of the lung. Grade 3: The area of lung perfusion defect exceeded one lobe of the lung. The radiation field with more than 20 Gy was drawn as a region of interest (ROI). The proportion of radioactive dose within this ROI relative to total lung dose in one slice was calculated.RESULTS All patients had lung perfusion defects, nine patients with grade 1,five patients with grade 2 and five patients with grade 3 damage,respectively. All tumors in the 19 patients were reduced in CT or X-ray images to various degrees after 40～50 Gy radiation. The mean proportion of ROI in 19 patients was 53.7±29.8% before radiation as compared to 57.6±22.6% during RT. The difference between these two groups was not significant (P=0.280). The decreased relative lung perfusion post-RT was found in six patients, whereas the increased relative lung perfusion post-RT was observed in 13 patients.CONCLUSION SPECT lung perfusion scaning is a simple, convenient and useful method for assessing regional lung function pre-RT and for monitoring the changes in regional lung function after irradiation.