Is stereotactic body radiotherapy an alternative to surgery in early stage non small cell lung cancer?

Purpose: To determine local control and overall survival of patients with medically inoperable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.

Methods: Included were a total of 52 patients (7;13% females and 45;87% males) with medically inoperable early-stage NSCLC and who were treated with stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SBRT) by a CyberKnife robotic radiotherapy machine between 2009 and 2017. Depending on tumor size and location, median 45 Gy (30-60) were delivered in median 3 fractions (3-5) to Planning Target Volume.