A systematic review of outcomes following stereotactic ablative radiotherapy in the treatment of early-stage primary lung cancer

Abstract

Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) describes a radiotherapy (RT) technique where high doses of radiation are precisely delivered to an extracranial target within the body, using either a single fraction of RT or using multiple small numbers of fractions. SABR has now become the standard of care treatment for patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for whom surgery is not appropriate. This systematic review considers the evidence supporting the use of SABR in early-stage NSCLC, reported toxicity rates, the use of SABR in centrally located NSCLC, the use of SABR as salvage therapy following surgery or RT, and future potential drug combinations with SABR.