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Stereotactic
Radiotherapy stops Lung Cancer from growing
in Frail Patients
Newswise — Stereotactic body radiation
therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer
at its original site in the lung for three
years among nearly 98 percent of patients
with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
who are unable to have the cancer surgically
removed, according to an updated three-year
study presented November 2, 2009, at the
51st Annual Meeting of the American Society
for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
The study also shows that more than half (56
percent) of these patients lived for three
years after diagnosis, while 48 percent
survived for three years after cancer
treatment with no sign of the disease
returning.
Researchers also found that despite the high
potency of treatment, less than 20 percent
of these extremely frail patients
experienced a serious decline in their
health status. This finding was better than
researchers expected and is similar to the
risks for healthier patients to undergo
radical surgery.
“The results of the RTOG 0236 study confirms
that SBRT should now be considered a
standard treatment in early-stage lung
cancer patients with co-existing serious
medical problems, such as emphysema, heart
disease and stroke,” Robert D. Timmerman,
M.D., lead author of the Radiation Therapy
Oncology Group (RTOG) study and a radiation
oncologist at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said.
“It also begs the question of whether SBRT
should be considered in healthier patients
with lung cancer who are treated with
surgery.”
Stereotactic body radiation therapy is a
specialized type of external beam radiation
therapy that pinpoints high doses of
radiation directly on the cancer in a
shorter amount of time than traditional
treatments. Cancer centers often call the
treatments by the brand names of the
manufacturers, including Axesse, CyberKnife,
Gamma Knife, Novalis, Primatom, Synergy,
X-Knife, TomoTherapy and Trilogy. Treatment
in the study was delivered in 1½ to 2 weeks,
instead of a typical period of 6 to 8 weeks.
For the past century, the standard treatment
for early-stage NSCLC has been radical
surgery that has involved removing a lobe or
even the entire lung on the affected side.
This surgery can be difficult for many
patients as other medical conditions can
hinder their recovery. The phase II trial
took place from May 2004 to October 2006 and
involved 55 patients at eight RTOG
institutions in the U.S. and Canada. They
received SBRT with a dose of 54 Gy in three
fractions. The medium follow-up after
treatment was 34 months.
The study was supported by grants from the
National Cancer Institute and Advanced
Technology Consortium.
For more information on radiation therapy for lung cancer
and stereotactic radiation therapy, visit
www.rtanswers.org.
The abstract, “Analysis of RTOG 0236:
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for
Medically Inoperable Early-stage Lung Cancer
Patients,” will be presented at a scientific
session at 11:10 a.m. on Monday, November 2.
2009.
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