Selection of fractionation regimens of stereotactic body radiotherapy in patients with early stage lung cancer

Abstract

Stereotactic body radiotherapy for early stage non-small-cell lung cancer was, is, and will remain the key subject of discussions between radiation oncologists and surgeons. Despite the positive treatment outcomes reported in some large studies on efficacy of the stereotactic radiotherapy, its use instead of surgery may not always be an unconditional decision. However, stereotactic radiotherapy opens new treatment options in patients who are inoperable or refused surgery. This is possibly due to the high accuracy of modern linear accelerators, which allow to reduce the toxicity of radiotherapy and achieve an almost identical overall survival rate compared to surgery.