Radiotherapy Induced Bone Injury (RIBI) as a Late Side Effect in Patients Treated with Stereotactic Lung Radiotherapy

Abstract

Abstract The standard treatment for patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer is a surgical approach; however inoperable patients may be treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) with an excellent local control rate of 80 to 90%. Although the majority of patients tolerate this treatment reasonably well, some may experience side effects such as chest wall pain and rib fracture. In this study several potential dosimetric and clinical factors related with rib fracture were evaluated and a nomogram estimating the risk of rib fracture based on the most relevant risk factors was created. Our study supported the relationship between dosimetric-clinical factors and rib fractures in patients with lung cancer treated with stereotactic radiotherapy. Based on our findings and supported published data, we have modified our radiotherapy dose in high risk patients for rib fracture.%%%%M.Sc.