Disease-free survival in patients who had no lung cancer present at 18 months after treatment was 34.6 percent. The overall survival rate at 18 months, including disease-free patients and those who still had evidence of lung cancer, was 59.7 percent. "The overall survival rates are lower in medically inoperable patients receiving lung SBRT compared to operable surgical patients," said Dr. Videtic. "However, the lower survival rate in medically inoperable patients may be due to the presence of other non-cancer related conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, commonly found in inoperable patients."

The percentage of SBRT patients who were free of side effects was 70.5 percent. Side effects observed from SBRT included mild chest wall pain and modest inflammation in lung tissue. In two severe cases, patients experienced excessive fluid build-up in the lung and a lung collapse due to inflammation that blocked the airways.


The research team concluded: "Lung SBRT for medically inoperable node negative NSCLC tumors larger than 5 cm provides excellent local control with limited toxicity. With appropriate patient selection, SBRT is safe and efficacious for larger tumors."

"While this is a retrospective study that included only a fairly small number of patients who were followed for less than two years, the results look promising and certainly warrant additional investigation," said Dee Khuntia, Varian's vice president for medical affairs.

1Woody, NM, et al. Stereotactic body radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer tumors greater than 5 cm: safety and efficacy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2015 June 1; 92(2):325-31. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2015.01.045.

About Varian Medical Systems

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: VAR), of Palo Alto, California, focuses energy on saving lives by equipping the world with advanced technology for fighting cancer and for X-ray imaging. The company is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiation. The company provides comprehensive solutions for radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is also a premier supplier of X-ray imaging components, including tubes, digital detectors, and image processing software and workstations for use in medical, scientific, and industrial settings, as well as for security and non-destructive testing. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 6,900 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and approximately 70 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com or follow us on Twitter.

More HCB News