ATLANTA, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — During the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer, leading users of Elekta Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) technology presented their findings on the use of SBRT to treat early stage, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The most common form of lung cancer, NSCLC arises from a number of causes, including active smoking, passive smoking (secondhand smoke), and exposure to other carcinogens.

In an oral presentation, Dr. Andrew J. Hope, Radiation Oncologist, Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto, Canada) discussed the experience of a multinational consortium of Elekta collaborators that has treated operable, early stage lung cancer. Titled, Outcomes of operable patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) treated with image guided stereotactic body radiation therapy (IG-SBRT), the consortium found that the 505 tumors in the 483 operable patients declining a thoracotomy and subsequently treated with IG-SBRT had overall survival and cancer-specific outcomes similar to reported surgical series. With the condition that additional follow-up would be required, the data support continued investigation of IG-SBRT, suggesting that IG-SBRT is potentially an equivalent alternative to surgery in operable patients with early stage lung cancer.