title: The effect of CyberKnife therapy on pulmonary function tests used for treating non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective, observational cohort pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The current standard for treating operable early stage non-small cell lung cancer is surgical resection and for inoperable cases it is external beam radiotherapy. Lung functions are adversely affected with both the above treatments. CyberKnife treatment limits radiation damage by tracking targets moving with each breath. The effect of CyberKnife treatment on pulmonary function tests has not been well documented.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lung cancer patients who underwent CyberKnife treatment and had pre- and post-treatment pulmonary function tests were included. Paired t-tests were conducted. We also conducted subgroup analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-seven patients were included. Median age was 73 years. No statistical difference between mean pre- and post-CyberKnife pulmonary function tests was found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed that CyberKnife better preserves lung function status compared to current standards of care. It has shown to have very minimal side effects.
authors.affiliation: Synergy Medical Education Alliance, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Saginaw, Michigan, USA ; MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Rishi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Paramveer
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saluja
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ledbetter
authors.forename: Sukhveer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bains
authors.forename: Seema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Varghese
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clements
authors.forename: Young H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: non-small cell lung cancer; pulmonary function tests; radiation pneumonitis; radiotherapy