SABR in NSCLC – The beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?

Pulmonary function and quality of life after VMAT-based stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for early stage inoperable NSCLC: a prospective study

“…In a recent review on the role of SABR for early stage lung cancer, from Louie et al [20], and accompanying editorial from Brada et al [21], the Authors emphasize the need for prospective studies with survival and quality of life as primary endpoints, focusing the attention on pulmonary function and morbidity. This is one of the few prospective studies describing changes in pulmonary function and quality of life after SABR, in the RTOG 0236 phase II trial, designed for medically inoperable early stage NSCLC patients [10].…”

Phase I study of stereotactic body radiation therapy for peripheral T2N0M0 non-small cell lung cancer with PTV < 100 cc using a continual reassessment method (JCOG0702)

“…If we escalate the dose for T2 tumors with larger PTV, attention must be paid to higher rates of late complications [9,13].…”

“…Therefore, a careful prospective dose finding study is needed for peripheral T2N0M0 NSCLC in SBRT, as Brada et al have pointed out confounding data between tumor control and tumor volume] [9].…”

Predicting Overall Survival After Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy in Early-Stage Lung Cancer: Development and External Validation of the Amsterdam Prognostic Model

“…In ES-NSCLC patients who are being considered for surgery, externally validated tools to predict peri-operative mortality and OS can be used to guide clinical decisionmaking (5)(6)(7). Just as surgeons should be careful in operating on patients with medical comorbidities (8), radiation oncologists must be careful when selecting patients most likely to benefit from SABR (9). To our knowledge, currently no validated instrument exists to assist in determining the prognosis of ES-NSCLC patients treated with SABR (10), which would be useful in maximizing benefit to the broader community and minimizing undertreatment (11).…”