Stereotactic radiosurgery/stereotactic body radiation therapy-reflection on the last decade's achievements and future directions.
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and its extracranial first cousin, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) have become increasingly important in the palliative treatment of cancer patients over the past decade. Appropriately designed and adequately powered clinical trials have in many clinical scenarios amply justified the time, effort, and expense associated with the development and delivery of these highly conformal and complex radiation treatment plans. Ongoing trials are anticipated to provide further confirmatory documentation of the benefits that have been readily observed by caregivers, patients, and their families. It may be predicted that future directions for palliative radiosurgery will include simplification, through greater automation, of the detailed steps that are still required for safe treatment, and thereby increase the chances for patients to receive these advanced palliative interventions at local institutions, from local caregivers.
Department of Radiation Medicine, Northwell Health, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Lake Success, NY, USA. jknisely@northwell.edu.
Jonathan
J
Knisely
Departments of Radiation Oncology and Surgery, University of Toronto Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Arjun
A
Sahgal
Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Simon
S
Lo
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Lijun
L
Ma
Department of Radiation Oncology, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Eric
E
Chang
D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000379:methods*; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000379:methods*
Cancer; pain management palliative care stereotactic radiosurgery; stereotactic body radiotherapy