WCLC 2025 - Posters & ePosters-EP.07.14 Contemporary Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Utilization Trends for Stage I Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

EP.07.14 Contemporary Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Utilization Trends for Stage I Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

Pdf Summary

This study analyzes stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) utilization trends for clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the U.S. from 2004 to 2021, using data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Surgical resection remains the standard treatment, but SBRT has become an alternative for patients who are poor surgical candidates or refuse surgery.<br /><br />Among 343,557 stage I NSCLC patients, 59% had surgery, 19% received SBRT, 12% underwent non-SBRT radiation, and 10% received no treatment. SBRT patients tended to be older, insured by Medicare, and had more comorbidities. Tumors in this group were generally smaller and stage IA predominated.<br /><br />SBRT use rose dramatically from 1% in 2004 to 35% in 2021 (p<0.001), while surgery rates declined from 68% to 41% (p<0.001). Untreated cases decreased from 16% to 10% (p<0.001). Reasons for avoiding surgery included surgery not planned (74%), patients not surgical candidates (21%), and patient refusal (5%). Notably, the proportion of patients with surgical contraindications receiving SBRT slightly declined, while the use of SBRT as first-line therapy for those not planned for surgery increased during the study period.<br /><br />The findings indicate that SBRT utilization for stage I NSCLC is significantly increasing over time, independent of changes in surgical eligibility or patient refusal. The study recommends continued surgical counseling alongside discussions about SBRT until more definitive results from ongoing phase III trials are available.<br /><br />In summary, SBRT is increasingly adopted as a definitive treatment for early-stage NSCLC, reflecting evolving treatment paradigms beyond surgical candidacy or patient choice alone.

Asset Subtitle

Drew Moghanaki

Meta Tag

Speaker Drew Moghanaki

Topic Early-Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Keywords

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

SBRT

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

NSCLC

Stage I Lung Cancer

National Cancer Database

Surgical Resection

Treatment Trends

Radiation Therapy

Medicare Patients