title: Assessing the Need for Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Early-stage Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Surgery remains the standard treatment for medically operable patients with early-stage non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Following surgical resection, adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for large tumors >4 cm. For unfit patients, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as an excellent alternative to surgery. This study aims to assess patterns of recurrence and discuss the role of chemotherapy after SBRT for NSCLC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed patients treated with SBRT for primary early-stage NSCLC between 2009 and 2015. Total target doses were between 50 and 60 Gy administered in three to eight fractions. All patients had a staging fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) integrated with computed tomography (CT) scan, and histologic confirmation was obtained whenever possible. Mediastinal staging was performed if lymph node involvement was suspected on CT or PET/CT. Survival outcomes were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 559 early-stage NSCLC patients treated with SBRT, 121 patients were stage T2N0. The one-year and three-year overall survival rates were 88% and 70%, respectively, for patients with T2 disease, compared to 95% and 81%, respectively, for the T1 patients (p<0.05). The one-year and three-year local control rates were equal in both groups (98% and 91%, respectively). In T2 patients, 25 (21%) presented a relapse, among which 21 (84%) were nodal or distant. The median survival of T2N0 patients following a relapse was 11 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lung SBRT provides high local control rates, even for larger tumors. When patients relapse, the majority of them do so at regional or distant sites. These results raise the question as to whether adjuvant treatment should be considered following SBRT for larger tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: Raphaël
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jumeau
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: Houda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bahig
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: Édith
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Filion
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Campeau
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roberge
authors.affiliation: Radiology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: Andrei-Bogdan
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Gorgos
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'université de Montréal (CHUM).
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vu
keywords: adjuvant chemotherapy; lung cancer; sbrt