Abstract
BackgroundStereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an established therapy for medically inoperable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many elderly patients are medically inoperable owing to comorbidities. Therefore, SBRT may be a useful therapy for elderly patients. However, the application of SBRT for patients aged ≥ 80 years has not been completely elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the clinical utility of SBRT for elderly patients aged ≥ 80 years with pathologically proven early-stage NSCLC.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated the data of patients aged ≥ 80 years with pathologically proven primary NSCLC who underwent SBRT at our institution between January 2009 and March 2020. Treatment outcomes and toxicities were analyzed. We used the Kaplan–Meier method to estimate survival curves and the log-rank test to compare the survival curves. We performed univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. p-values < 0.05 were regarded significant.ResultsSixty-four patients (65 lesions) were included, and the median follow-up period was 38.7 (range 3.5–95.7) months. The median age was 82.9 (range 80.0–94.8) years. Sixteen patients were medically operable, and 48 patients were medically inoperable. The prescribed dose of SBRT was either 48 Gy in four fractions or 60 Gy in 10 fractions. The median survival time was 60.0 months (95% confidence interval, 43.5–71.1). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year local control, cancer-specific survival, progression-free survival, and overall survival rates were 98.4%, 98.4%, 81.0%, and 88.9%; 90.1%, 93.7%, 58.9%, and 68.3%; and 87.4%, 83.5%, 38.2%, and 47.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that inoperability and solid nodules were the predictors of poor overall survival after SBRT in elderly patients. Two patients (3.1%) had grade 3 radiation pneumonitis, and one patient (1.6%) had grade 5 radiation pneumonitis.ConclusionsSBRT was feasible in patients aged ≥ 80 years with NSCLC. It achieved good local control with minimal toxicity. SBRT may be beneficial in elderly patients with early-stage NSCLC.
Highlights
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an established therapy for medically inoperable earlystage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Surgical resection is an effective treatment for elderly patients [5], it is often not feasible in elderly patients aged ≥ 80 years owing to comorbidities
This study revealed that SBRT had excellent tumor control rates and low toxicity rates in patients aged ≥ 75 years with proven NSCLC
Summary
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an established therapy for medically inoperable earlystage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Many elderly patients are medically inoperable owing to comorbidities. SBRT may be a useful therapy for elderly patients. This study aimed to assess the clinical utility of SBRT for elderly patients aged ≥ 80 years with pathologically proven early-stage NSCLC. The proportion of elderly patients with primary lung cancer is predicted to increase owing to the aging of the general population [2, 3]. The treatment strategy for elderly patients with primary lung cancer is an important consideration. Surgery is the standard treatment for early-stage nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [4]. No evidence-based standard treatments for elderly patients with NSCLC exist, for those aged ≥ 80 years. Surgical resection is an effective treatment for elderly patients [5], it is often not feasible in elderly patients aged ≥ 80 years owing to comorbidities
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