The use of stereotactic radiotherapy in the treatment of lung malignancies — a scoping review

Introduction. Lung cancer remains as main cause of cancer-related mortality, despite new advances, with many patients remaining inoperable. Novel methods of radiotherapy, including stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), can provide survival benefits in lung cancer, mainly in inoperable patients. However, its use in many forms of lung cancer is still heavily debated. To this end, the present scoping review was undertaken to assess the clinical outcomes of stereotactic radiotherapy in patients with lung cancer. Material and methods. Major electronic databases were searched using keywords and Boolean operators for relevant records. Records were filtered according to the PRISM-ScR guidelines and eligible records were selected. Data regarding clinical outcomes, including the survival rate and toxicities, were extracted from each included study. Results. The literature search retrieved a total of 16,006 records, out of which 15 were included in the synthesis of the review. Stereotactic body radiotherapy showed favorable results in patients with non-small lung cancer as well as patients with bronchial carcinoid tumors and other subtypes of lung cancer, with few significant toxicities reported. Conclusions. Stereotactic body radiotherapy can be further implemented for clinical use in patients with different subtypes of lung cancer. Nevertheless, further research is required to establish standardized dosing protocols, improve toxicity reporting, and explore SBRT’s role in more complicated and rare cases.