Five-year Long-term Outcomes of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Operable Versus Medically Inoperable Stage I Non-small-cell Lung Cancer: Analysis by Operability, Fractionation Regimen, Tumor Size, and Tumor Location.

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is standard for medically inoperable stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is emerging as a surgical alternative in operable patients. However, limited long-term outcomes data exist, particularly according to operability. We hypothesized long-term local control (LC) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) would not differ by fractionation schedule, tumor size or location, or operability status, but overall survival (OS) would be higher for operable patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All consecutive patients with stage I (cT1-2aN0M0) NSCLC treated with SBRT from June 2009 to July 2013 were assessed. Thoracic surgeon evaluation determined operability. Local failure was defined as growth following initial tumor shrinkage or progression on consecutive scans. LC, CSS, and OS were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: A total of 186 patients (204 lesions) were analyzed. Most patients were inoperable (82%) with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 1 (59%) or 2 (26%). All lesions received biological effective doses ≥ 100 Gy most commonly (94%) in 3 to 5 fractions. The median follow-up was 4.0 years. LC at 2 and 5 years were 95.6% (95% confidence interval, 92%-99%) and 93.7% (95% confidence interval, 90%-98%), respectively. Compared with operable patients, inoperable patients did not have significant differences in 5-year LC (93.1% vs. 96.7%; P = .49), nodal failure (31.4% vs. 11.0%; P = .12), distant failure (12.2% vs. 10.4%; P = .98), or CSS (80.6% vs. 91.0%; P = .45) but trended towards worse OS (34.2% vs. 45.3%; P = .068). Tumor size, location, and fractionation did not significantly influence outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: SBRT has excellent, durable LC and CSS rates for early-stage NSCLC, although inoperable patients had somewhat lower OS than operable patients, likely owing to greater comorbidities.

Impact of Enlarged Nonhypermetabolic Lymph Nodes on Outcomes After Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Early-Stage Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Up to 15% of patients undergoing positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) before stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) harbor occult nodal disease. In the absence of invasive mediastinal staging, the clinical significance of enlarged nonhypermetabolic lymph nodes (LNs) remains unclear. We performed what is to our knowledge the first study to address whether enlarged nonhypermetabolic LNs were associated with higher post-SBRT failure rates. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two academic centers assessed 157 consecutive patients treated with SBRT for cT1-2aN0M0 non-small-cell lung cancer who underwent PET/CT without pathologic nodal staging. The cutoff of an enlarged node was ≥ 1.0 cm, although a 7 mm threshold was also evaluated. Local recurrence-free survival (RFS), regional RFS, distant metastasis-free survival, RFS, and overall survival (OS) were calculated by Kaplan-Meier methodology. Multivariate Cox modeling addressed factors associated with RFS and OS. RESULTS: There were 120 patients (76%) with LNs < 1 cm and 37 (24%) with nodes ≥ 1 cm. Most patients had peripheral and/or T1 tumors. Median follow-up was 25.5 months. There were no differences between cohorts in actuarial local RFS, regional RFS, distant metastasis-free survival, RFS, or OS (P > .05 for all). Thirteen percent of patients experienced any nodal relapse, 15% of which occurred in the same station as that of the largest pre-SBRT LN. Stratification by largest LN location in an N1 versus N2 station showed no differences in RFS or OS (P > .05 for both). A 7 mm cutoff also showed no differences in outcomes (P > .05 for all). LN size was not correlated with RFS/OS on multivariable analysis (P > .05 for both). CONCLUSION: The presence of enlarged nonhypermetabolic LNs on PET/CT is not associated with increased post-SBRT failure rates.