Nov. 6, 2009 Patients with early stage, non-small cell lung
cancer who are not able to undergo surgery, now have a highly
effective treatment option. Physicians say that option, radical
stereotactic radiosurgery performed with CyberKnife, leads to a
100 percent overall survival after three years in patients with
good lung function before treatment. These are the results of a
study presented today at the annual CHEST meeting in San Diego.
The study is a semifinalist for an Alfred Soffer Research Award,
selected for "outstanding original scientific research." For
patients with small tumors characterized as early-stage disease,
surgical removal of the affected lobe (lobectomy) is the
standard of care. However, surgery is sometimes not an option
because of other pre-existing medical conditions such as
emphysema or heart disease. "Our goal has been to find a
reasonable option for patients who don't want or can't tolerate
surgery," says the study's lead author, Brian T. Collins, MD, a
radiation oncologist with the