Dr. Roth Compares Surgery With SBRT in Lung Cancer

Jack A. Roth, MD, professor, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, chief, Section of Thoracic Molecular Oncology, Division of Surgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, compares surgery with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with early-stage lung cancer.

Surgery, which often involves a lobectomy, has been the standard of care for patients with early-stage lung cancer for years, Roth explains. With this procedure, these patients have a greater than 70% chance of being disease-free for 5 years. This has been shown to be an effective treatment, Roth says, so long as the disease is in early stage.

In recent years, SBRT has emerged as a treatment for early-stage patients who cannot undergo surgery due to poor pulmonary function and other comorbidities that would make surgery too risky, Roth says. Local control rates for SBRT have been greater than 90%.