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Updated: Aug 14, 2026
Dynamic Lung Tumor Tracking for Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiation Therapy
Published on: June 7, 2015
Stereotactic body radiation therapy of lung tumors: preliminary experience using normal tissue complication
Danny Y Song1, Stanley H Benedict, Robert M Cardinale
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, VA, USA. dsong2@jhmi.edu
Objectives:
To assess the feasibility and toxicity of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic tumors in lung.
Methods:
Twenty-five tumors in 17 patients were treated. All treatments were delivered in 3 daily fractions of 9 to 15 Gy per fraction. Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) calculations (using the Lyman model) were performed to facilitate dose prescription, and doses were prescribed with a maximum allowable NTCP risk of pneumonitis of up to 20%, not to exceed 15 Gy per fraction. Planning target volumes were designed to allow for respiratory variation in tumor location.
Results:
The median dose prescribed was 35 Gy (range, 24 to 45 Gy). Twenty-three of 25 tumors remained controlled at median follow-up of 14 months. Four patients experienced grade 1-2 acute toxicity. Late toxicity developed in 2 patients who received treatment to peri-hilar tumors, including one patient in whom bronchial stenosis developed with complete occlusion and lobar atelectasis 6 months after treatment. No patient had grade 3 or 4 radiation pneumonitis.
Conclusions:
SBRT prescribed within the confines of NTCP-restricted dosing on this protocol resulted in no radiation pneumonitis. Tissues other than lung parenchyma which are unaccounted for by NTCP may be dose-limiting when performing hypofractionated SBRT in the lung.
