Phase I and II Study Of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Medically Unresectable Patients With Stage 1 NSCLC

The most common treatment for early stage lung cancers is to remove the cancer with surgery. Patients with serious underlying health problems like emphysema, diabetes, or heart disease who develop an early stage lung cancer may not be eligible for the standard surgical treatment. The most common alternative to surgery is conventional radiation treatment called fractionated radiotherapy. "Fractionated radiotherapy" means several weeks of treatment with daily radiation sessions. While this treatment is sometimes successful at killing the cancer, it is not as effective as surgery and may significantly damage the surrounding lung tissue. Newer treatments using radiotherapy have been developed and used for patients with metastases (spreading cancer) to the lungs. Stereotactic radiotherapy uses a frame to guide highly focused beams of radiation at the cancer while avoiding the normal surrounding tissue. Stereotactic radiotherapy also uses a higher daily dose of radiation. The higher daily dose may be more effective than conventional radiotherapy at killing cancer cells and may also decrease side effects.