The effect of increasing the prescribed dose in stereotactic body radiotherapy for primary lung cancer without lymph node metastasis.

Background: This study aimed to identify the efficacy of increasing the dose of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for lung cancer.

Method and materials: Patients who received SBRT for primary lung cancer between 2002 and 2021 were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were categorized into the 48, 50, and 55 Gy groups according to the prescribed dose. Analyses were performed for all matched patients.

Result: A total of 323 patients underwent SBRT for lung lesions at doses of 48, 50, and 55 Gy in four fractions. The median follow-up period in the 55 Gy group (32.3 months; Interquartile range (IQR), 15.1-54.1 months, P = 0.01) was significantly shorter than in the 48 Gy (47.0 months; IQR, 16,2-107.7 months) and 50 Gy (78.9 months; IQR 47.2-104.2 months) groups. The 3-year local progression-free survival (LPFS) was 90% in the 55 Gy group (95% confidence interval (CI), 62.4%-94.0%), 75.7% in the 48 Gy group (62.1%-85.0%), and 79.1% in the 50 Gy group (62.2%-89.1%). LPFS in the 55 Gy group was significantly higher than that in the 48 Gy group (hazard ratio (HR), 0.40; 95% CI, 0.20-0.79; P = 0.025). There is no significant difference in the local control rate between the 55 Gy group and the 50 Gy group (HR 0.60, CI 0.27-1.39). After propensity score matching, the 3-year LPFS in the 55 Gy group was 88.3% (CI, 71.2-95.5%). LPFS in the 55 Gy group did not significantly differ from that of the 48 Gy group (HR, 0.47; CI, 0.17-1.35) and the 50 Gy group (HR, 0.83; CI, 0.28-2.51).

Conclusion: We conducted the analysis using propensity score matching. It was not apparent whether there was a significant difference in the effect of increasing the dose, owing to a lack of power caused by the small number of cases after propensity score matching. A prospective study is in progress, and the results are awaited.