In a nutshell
This study wanted to find out if using stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) improves survival in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study found that this treatment resulted in good long-term survival and had few side effects.
Some background
Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is a type of cancer treatment. It involves using many beams of radiation which target the tumor at once from different angles. This works to directly kill the cancer cells. It has been commonly used in treating tumors in the brain. It is not known how safe and effective this therapy would be for early-stage NSCLC located peripherally.
Methods & findings
This study had 189 patients. All the patients had a single tumor in the lung that was an NSCLC. All the patients were treated with SABR. The average follow-up period was 18 months.
After 1 year, 14% of patients found that the cancer had come back. After 2 years, 28% of patients found that the cancer had come back. After 5 years, 34% of patients found that the cancer had come back.
After one year, 83% of the patients were still alive. After 2 years, 65% of the patients were still alive. After 5 years, 37% of the patients were still alive. The average survival time was 37 months. After one year, 75% of patients were alive without signs and symptoms of the disease. After 2 years, this rate was 49% and after 4 years it was 31%.
There were no serious side effects to the treatment.
The bottom line
The study concluded that stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy was safe and effective in treating early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.
The fine print
This was a small study, with no comparison group. Further studies are needed.
Published By :
BMC cancer
Date :
Jun 28, 2019
