Journal Article

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for medically inoperable early-stage lung cancer: Tata Memorial Hospital perspective and practice recommendations

Laskar, Sarbani, Mummudi, Naveen, Pathak, Rima, Purandare, Nilendu, Agarwal, Jai, Patil, Vijay, Pilar, Avinash, Gupta, Meetakshi, Kinhikar, Rajesh, Ghadi, Yogesh, Tandon, Sandeep, Tibdewal, Anil, Prabhash, Kumar

2020

Overview

Background: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is now considered the standard treatment for medically inoperable early-stage non-small lung cell cancer (ES-NSCLC). Purpose: There is a paucity of data related to outcomes with SBRT in ES-NSCLC from the developing countries. We report the early outcomes of ES-NSCLC patients treated with SBRT at our institute. Materials and Methods: Between 2007 and 2015, 40 consecutive patients with histologically proven ES-NSCLC were treated with SBRT. Median age was 71 years (range: 46-88 years) and median Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was 3. The majority had stage I (70%) and 45% of the tumors were centrally located. The median tumor diameter was 3.8 cm (range: 2-7.6 cm). The mean gross tumor volume was 41 cc (range: 4-139 cc) and the mean planning target volume (PTV) was 141 cc (range: 27-251 cc). Varying dose and fraction (fr) sizes were used depending on tumor location, tumor size, and treatment period. The median biologically effective dose (BED) was 77 Gy10 (range: 77-105 Gy10) for the initial cohort (2007-2012) and 105 Gy10 (range: 77-132 Gy10) for the subsequent cohort (2013-2015). Results: After a median follow-up of 16 months (range: 3-99 months), the 2-year local control (LC), overall survival, and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates were 94%, 41%, and 62%, respectively. The univariate and multivariate analysis determined CCI >3 and PTV >80.6 cc as significant predictors of worse OS and CSS (P< 0.01). The clinical stage, tumor location, BED, and treatment period (2007-2012 vs. 2013-2015) did not significantly predict any of the outcomes. The most common acute toxicities were skin erythema (10%), grade 1 esophagitis (8%), and exacerbation of previous chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (10%). Grade ≥2 late radiation pneumonitis was seen in 17.5%. One patient developed a rib fracture. No neurological or vascular complications were seen. Conclusions: SBRT results in excellent local control (LC) and acceptable survival in medically inoperable ES-NSCLC with minimal adverse effects. Charlson comorbidity index and target volume are important prognostic factors and may aid in patient selection.

• Publisher: Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd,Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd,Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd
• Subject: Cancer therapies / Cardiac function / Care and treatment / Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / Developing countries / Failure / Fractionation / Histology / Lung cancer / Medical imaging / Medical prognosis / Non-small cell lung cancer / Patients / Radiation (Physics) / Radiation therapy / Radiotherapy / Statistical analysis / Surgery / Tumors