ASTRO Issues New Guideline on SBRT in Early-Stage Lung Cancer
Although stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) remains the current standard of care for peripherally located tumors in patients with early-stage lung cancer who cannot undergo surgery, a new clinical practice guideline issued by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) focuses on the appropriateness of SBRT for medically inoperable patients with limited treatment options. This guideline was published by Gregory M.M. Videtic, MD, Co-Chair of the Task Force that authored the guideline and a radiation oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues in Practice Radiation Oncology.
Intended to address SBRT for those who cannot tolerate surgery and require customization of SBRT in high-risk clinical scenarios, the guideline provides evidence-based recommendations regarding the appropriateness of this advanced type of external-beam radiation therapy in early-stage non–small cell lung cancer. The focus of the guideline is the inoperable patient, but the appropriateness of SBRT in the operable patient—an area of debate and controversy—is also highlighted.
“This guideline reinforces SBRT as the standard of care for medically inoperable patients, but it also examines the safety and efficacy of SBRT in less traditional clinical scenarios,” said Megan E. Daly, MD, also Co-Chair of the Task Force and a radiation oncologist at the University of California, Davis, Comprehensive Cancer Center in Sacramento, California.
