title: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for small lung tumors with a moderate dose. Favorable results and low toxicity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SBRT, SABR) is being increasingly applied because of its high local efficacy, e.g., for small lung tumors. However, the optimum dosage is still under discussion. Here, we report data on 45 lung lesions [non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or metastases] in 39 patients treated between 2009 and 2010 by SABR.
  
  
  METHODS
  SABR was performed with total doses of 35 Gy (5 fractions) or 37.5 Gy (3 fractions) prescribed to the 60% isodose line encompassing the planning target volume. Three-monthly follow-up CT scans were supplemented by FDG-PET/CT if clinically indicated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median follow-up was 17 months. Local progression-free survival rates were 90.5% (all patients), 95.0% (NSCLC), and 81.8% (metastases) at 1 year. At 2 years, the respective local progression-free survival rates were 80.5%, 95.0%, and 59.7%. Overall survival rates were 71.1% (all patients), 65.4% (NSCLC), and 83.3% (metastases) at 1 year. Overall survival rates at 2 years were 52.7%, 45.9%, and 66.7%, respectively. Acute side effects were mild.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With the moderate dose schedule used, well-tolerated SABR led to favorable local tumor control as in other published series. Standardization in reporting the dose prescription for SABR is needed to allow comparison of different series in order to determine optimum dosage.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. Viola.Duncker-Rohr@og.ortenau-klinikum.de
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Duncker-Rohr
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nestle
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Momm
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prokic
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Heinemann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mix
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reusch
authors.forename: M-B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Messmer
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marschner
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: A-L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Grosu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery*; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed