This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)-based stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A prospective database of 16 consecutive patients receiving SBRT for pathologically-proven and peripherally-located stage I NSCLC was reviewed. Fifteen patients were medically inoperable and one patient refused to undergo surgery. The median age of the patients was 76 years (range, 69-86). Treatment planning used four-dimensional computed tomography and fixed-field IMRT (n=11) or volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT; n=5). The SBRT scheme was 48 Gy in four fractions (n=9) or 55 Gy in five fractions (n=7), delivered on consecutive days. The overall response rate at 6 months was 78.6%, including a complete response in three (21.4%) patients and a partial response in eight (57.1%). Three patients (21.4%) demonstrated a stable disease status. The median follow-up time was 14 months (range, 6-20) for the surviving patients. One patient developed local failure at 11 months, while another suffered from regional failure in a subcarinal lymph node at 4 months. Two patients did not survive within the first 6 months; one patient died during salvage chemotherapy for mediastinal lymph node metastasis and the other succumbed to a cause unrelated to lung cancer. The Kaplan-Meier estimates of local failure-free, progression-free and overall survival rates at 18 months were 91.0, 85.2 and 87.5%, respectively. The toxicity was mild; no severe (grade ≥3) toxicity was identified. IMRT-based (including VMAT) delivery of SBRT for patients with stage I NSCLC demonstrated favorable responses and local control without severe toxicity.
Keywords: intensity-modulated radiotherapy; medically inoperable; non-small cell lung cancer; stage I; stereotactic body radiotherapy.