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@ARTICLE{Degerli:303373,
author = {E. Degerli and K. El-Marouk and L. Käsmann$^*$ and K.
Khaltar and S. Mansoorian and C. Richlitzki and D.
Kauffmann-Guerrero and A. Tufman and N. Reinmuth and T.
Duell and N.-S. Schmidt-Hegemann and F. Manapov and C.
Belka$^*$ and C. Eze},
title = {{E}mpiric stereotactic body radiotherapy for presumed
early-stage lung cancer : {P}ulmonary function changes,
treatment-related toxicity and survival outcome.},
journal = {Strahlentherapie und Onkologie},
volume = {nn},
issn = {0179-7158},
address = {Heidelberg},
publisher = {Springer Medizin},
reportid = {DKFZ-2025-01622},
pages = {nn},
year = {2025},
note = {epub},
abstract = {Due to demographic shifts, the population is aging, and
patients are experiencing more comorbidities. Stereotactic
body radiotherapy (SBRT) offers high rates of local control
for patients with medically inoperable early-stage non-small
cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, obtaining
histopathological confirmation can be challenging due to
severe comorbidities, small tumors, or unfavorable
anatomical locations.Between 2011 and 2022, we
retrospectively analyzed a cohort of patients who underwent
lung SBRT for presumed early-stage NSCLC at our institution.
Out of 486 consecutive patients treated during this period,
56 patients $(11.5\%)$ with a total of 61 lesions were
identified and included in this retrospective study. All
included patients lacked histopathological confirmation
prior to treatment and had no evidence of other active
malignancies. The primary objective of this analysis was to
evaluate pulmonary function tests before and after SBRT,
including long-term follow-up.The median overall survival
(OS) after empiric SBRT was 50.7 months $(95\%$ confidence
interval [CI] 12.8-88.7). Survival rates at 1 year and 2
years were 88.4 and $71.1\%,$ respectively. The 1‑, 2‑
and 3‑year local control rates were $96.6\%,$ $92.3\%$ and
$87.1\%.$ Pulmonary function tests indicated a relative
increase in the mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)
of $0.55\%$ (SD 13.5) and $2.0\%$ (SD: 20.0) at 6 and 12
months, respectively. In contrast, the mean diffusing
capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) showed a
relative decline of $7.4\%$ (SD 16.6) and $6.3\%$ (SD 26.1)
at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Patients with lower
comorbidity scores (CCI ≤ 5) exhibited significantly
improved OS (p = 0.011). Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT)
prior to SBRT was associated with shorter OS (p = 0.02) and
a relatively high incidence of grade 2-3 pulmonary
disorders. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was
identified as a possible risk factor for severe
treatment-related toxicity. Notably, all patients who
experienced grade 3 pulmonary disorders required LTOT before
SBRT.Empiric SBRT is a safe and effective treatment for
presumed early-stage NSCLC in patients without
histopathological confirmation. Even in patients requiring
oxygen therapy and with severe comorbidities, long-term
survival is feasible with acceptable treatment-related
toxicity. Optimal dose fractionation and biologically
effective dose (BED) levels for frail patients without
histological confirmation remain undefined. Prospective
trials are warranted to determine the most effective and
safe SBRT regimens for this vulnerable patient population.},
keywords = {Lung function (Other) / Lung neoplasms (Other) / Pathologic
confirmation (Other) / Radiographic (Other) / Stereotactic
ablative radiotherapy (SABR) (Other)},
cin = {MU01},
ddc = {610},
cid = {I:(DE-He78)MU01-20160331},
pnm = {899 - ohne Topic (POF4-899)},
pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-899},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
pubmed = {pmid:40760181},
doi = {10.1007/s00066-025-02434-8},
url = {https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/303373},
}