Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for lung cancer

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has evolved over the past 15 years and revolutionized the management of early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared to conventional radiation therapy, SBRT offers superior outcomes, lower costs and greater patient convenience.1 SBRT likewise offers local control and cancer outcomes approaching surgical resection2-8 with lower risk of treatment-related morbidity, making SBRT the treatment of choice for medically inoperable and many high-risk surgical candidates. Encouraging results in this population have led to the investigation of SBRT’s role in operable stage I NSCLC, lung oligometastasis, stage I small cell lung cancer, and potentially as a boost to conventional radiation therapy for locally advanced NSCLC. The lessons learned in the lung SBRT experience also serve as a model for developing SBRT in other mobile soft-tissue sites, including the liver, pancreas, adrenal gland and prostate.