"Patients in their s and s who have early stage lung cancer but cannot undergo an operation can be treated safely and effectively with stereotactic body radiation therapy SBRT according to research presented today at the  Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium http_sourcepress. The advanced form of radiation therapy RT was well tolerated among this relatively understudied elderly population indicating that SBRT is a viable option for patients who may otherwise be offered no curative treatment. While the primary treatment for early stage lung cancer is surgical removal of the tumor some patients may not be able to tolerate surgery due to health status advanced age or other factors. For these patients the best curative option is SBRT a specialized type of external beam RT that uses advanced imaging techniques to deliver extremely targeted radiation to a tumor. This high degree of precision makes SBRT particularly effective at sparing surrounding healthy tissue which is important for tumor sites near essential organs such as the heart and lungs. Patients complete SBRT treatment in three to five days compared with several weeks for conventional RT. While multiple studies and trials have established the effectiveness of SBRT for inoperable earlystage lung cancer one of the common reasons for not giving radiation in older patients is concern about tolerating the treatment and potential side effects said Richard J. Cassidy III MD lead author of the study and a resident in radiation oncology at Emory Universitys Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta. The low rates of side effects from SBRT for this elderly population in our study indicate that these concerns should not prevent physicians from considering definitive treatment for their inoperable octogenarian and nonagenarian patients with early stage lung cancer. Findings are based on a retrospective analysis of  consecutive patients who received definitive lung SBRT across four academic sites within Emory between  and . All patients were age  or older at the time of their diagnosis with a median age of . years. Forty percent of the tumors were adenocarcinomas while  percent were squamous cell carcinomas and  percent did not have a biopsy. Fifty percent of patients who did not have a biopsy had a previous history of lung cancer. Researchers used logistic regression and proportional hazard testing to determine the association of patient tumor and treatment characteristics to compare rates of survival recurrence and progression and assess the influence of patient and disease characteristics. Recursive partitioning analysis RPA was conducted to determine which patients were most likely to benefit from therapy. At two years following definitive SBRT for lung cancer among elderly patients survival rates were  percent for cancer specific survival CSS and  percent for overall survival OS. CSS rates were higher for patients who were not active smokers but lower for patients who were older or had a previous lung cancer diagnosis smoking Hazard Ratio HR  . p  . age HR  . p  . cancer HR  . p  .. OS rates were higher for patients with higher Karnofsky Performance Status KPS which measures a patients functional ability to perform ordinary tasks such as work and selfcare HR  . p  .. Researchers determined that this metric should be considered when offering SBRT in this elderly population with certain performance status criterion i.e. KPS   associated with significantly improved outcomes. Twoyear estimates of local control and regional control were . percent and . percent respectively. Local failure was more common among patients with adenocarcinomas HR  . p  . and less common for patients with T tumors HR  . p  .. Higher KPS scores were associated with lower rates of both local failure HR  . p  . and regional failure HR  . p  .. In terms of toxicity just over onethird of patients . experienced radiation pneumonitis of any grade with only two patients experiencing grade  pneumonitis. Pneumonitis was more frequent among patients who were not actively using aceinhibitors Odds Ratio OR  . p  . and less frequent in smaller tumors OR  . p  .. Our study along with other studies helps to show that SBRT can effectively and safely add years to the lives of elderly patients who have early stage lung cancer but cannot undergo an operation for it said Dr. Cassidy. Elderly patients who are otherwise doing well should not have treatment withheld based solely on concerns about side effects and age. The abstract Stereotactic body radiotherapy for early stage nonsmall cell lung cancer in patients  years and older A multicenter analysis will be presented in detail during the poster session at the  Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium in San Francisco full details below. To schedule an interview with Dr. Cassidy or an outside expert contact the ASTRO media relations team at pressastro.org mailtopressastro.org or . ATTRIBUTION TO THE  MULTIDISCIPLINARY THORACIC CANCERS SYMPOSIUM REQUESTED IN ALL NEWS COVERAGE.  Abstract and Presentation Details Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Early Stage NonSmall Cell Lung Cancer in Patients  Years and Older A MultiCenter Analysis News Briefing Friday March     p.m. Pacific time Foothill F httpbit.dothoracic httpsattendee.gotowebinar.comregister  Poster Session Thursday March  and Friday March  Yerba Buena Salons  and  This news release contains additional andor updated information from the study authors. Full original abstract and author disclosures available from pressastro.org mailtopressastro.org or thoracicsymposium.org http  Resources on Lung Cancer and Radiation Therapy Digital brochures Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer httprtanswers.orguploadedFilesTreatment_InformationBrochureslung.pdfutm_sourcepress Spanish version http_InformationBrochuresSpanishLungBrochures.pdf Plain Talk about Stereotactic Radiation httprtanswers.orguploadedFilesTreatment_InformationBrochuresplaintalk.pdfutm_sourcepress Understanding Clinical Trials httprtanswers.orguploadedFilesTreatment_InformationBrochuresclinicaltrials.pdfutm_sourcepress Videos Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer httprtanswers.orgtreatmentinformationcancertypeslungindex.aspxutm_sourcepress An Introduction to Radiation Therapy http_sourcepress Additional brochures httprtanswers.orgtreatmentinformationbrochuresindex.aspxutm_sourcepress videos httprtanswers.orgWhatisRadiationTherapy.aspxutm_sourcepress and information httprtanswers.orgindex.aspxutm_sourcepress on radiation therapy from RTAnswers.org httprtanswers.orgindex.aspxutm_sourcepress ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUMThe  Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium http_sourcepress cosponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology http_sourcepress ASTRO the American Society of Clinical Oncology http ASCO and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons http STS features the latest advances in surgery radiation therapy chemotherapy and novel molecular biologic therapies for thoracic malignancies such as lung cancer. 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Through research education and promotion of the highestquality patient care ASCO works to conquer cancer and create a world where cancer is prevented or cured and every survivor is healthy. ASCO is supported by its affiliate organization the Conquer Cancer Foundation. Learn more at  http explore patient education resources at  http and follow us on Facebook https Twitter httpstwitter.comASCO LinkedIn https and YouTube https ABOUT STSFounded in  The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a notforprofit organization representing approximately  cardiothoracic surgeons researchers and allied health care professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart lung and esophagus as well as other surgical procedures within the chest. The Societys mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality patient care through education research and advocacy."