Primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common malignancy in Canada. The current standard of care for fit patients with localized RCC is surgical resection of the kidney (nephrectomy). RCC, however, affects predominately an older population with a median age at diagnosis of 65 years. Surgery is often not an option for these patients due to existing co-morbidities, and in an increasing environment of shared decision making in healthcare, some patients decline surgical resection and seek less invasive alternatives.~Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a treatment approach that offers precise delivery of highly conformal radiotherapy to the tumour with minimal exposure to the surrounding normal tissues. SBRT is non-invasive and not limited by the size or location of kidney tumors like other ablative strategies. The worldwide experience of treating RCC with SBRT is growing and the results to date are promising. There is broader enthusiasm from both the radiation oncology and urology community to increase utilization of SBRT for RCC in non-surgical patients within the context of a well-designed prospective trial in Canada.~We will prospectively assess the efficacy, toxicity and impact on quality of life (QoL) of SBRT in the treatment of inoperable RCC.
This is a multicenter, single arm phase II study of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for patients with medically inoperable primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC).