Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Early-stage Lung Cancer in the Elderly

Publication date: Available online 1 July 2018

Source: Seminars in Oncology

Author(s): Ashwin Shinde, Richard Li, Jae Kim, Ravi Salgia, Arti Hurria, Arya Amini

Abstract

Early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is on the rise due to the implementation of screening guidelines for patients at risk for developing lung cancer. It is anticipated that as the United States population continues to age, there will be a higher percentage of medically inoperable early-stage lung cancer patients. For this reason, non-invasive ablative therapies are necessary. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an effective modality in addressing early-stage NSCLC. SBRT consists of high-dose radiation delivered over three to five treatments. Several randomized trials comparing surgery to SBRT in early-stage operable patients have unfortunately closed early due to poor accrual. However, a recent pooled analysis from two randomized trials (STARS and ROSEL) comparing surgery to SBRT did show comparable local control and overall survival rates between surgery and SBRT, offering a very effective, non-invasive modality for older adult patients with early-stage NSCLC. In this review, we summarize the role of SBRT in early-stage NSCLC, in particularly applying it to the older adult population.

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