Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, such as CyberKnife has a similar outcome as surgery for early lung cancer. So why would you put yourself through invasive lung surgery, when you can get your tumor treated non-invasively with targeted radiation therapy?
It’s the difference between undergoing general anesthesia, having an incision in your chest during surgery, the risk of infection, a hospital stay, and a long recovery from surgery, compared to CyberKnife, which is targeted radiation therapy. There are no incisions, blood, anesthesia, hospital stay or recovery time. You simply go to a CyberKnife center, lay down on the CyberKnife table in your regular clothes, listen to music, take a nap, while the tumor is being zapped with CyberKnife’s robotic arm. The technology delivers pinpoint targeted radiation to the tumor site, leaving the surrounding healthy tissue and organs unharmed. Then you get up off the CyberKnife table, go to lunch, work or whatever else you want to do. Within the next few weeks to a few months, the tumor shrivles up and dies.
The latest research from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center confirms it.
Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center presented the new data at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2025 Annual Meeting demonstrating that stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and surgery achieved similar survival outcomes at 10-year follow-up for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, with radiation offering quality-of-life benefits.
These findings were presented Sept. 29, 2025 by Joe Chang, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Radiation Oncology, and Troy Kleber, M.D., resident.
At a median follow-up of 8.3 years, overall survival rates were 69% for the SBRT cohort and 66% for the surgery cohort, a difference that was not statistically significant. Lung cancer-specific survival and recurrence-free survival rates also were similar. Although the data show a higher acute complication rate caused by surgery, the quality-of-life survey for patients at 10 years was similar. Chang and Kleber shared additional insights below.
What are the key findings presented?
“The most important finding is that SBRT and surgery had similar 10-year outcomes, reinforcing the initial five-year data that we have previously presented from this trial. This is very encouraging because we sometimes see similar outcomes at three years or even five years of follow-up that diverge over time. In this case, our initial findings continue to hold up after 10 years. There also are some notable advantages in quality of life for SBRT patients, including significantly fewer acute treatment-related complications,” Chang said.
What are the advantages of SBRT over surgery for patients?
“SBRT is a specific type of radiation therapy that precisely targets tumors with very high doses of radiation. It is also known as stereotactic ablative body radiation (SABR). The first major advantage is simply that many patients aren’t eligible for surgery for a variety of potential reasons. One factor is age, as many older patients are at much greater risk for complications with surgery, so a non-invasive option is immediately an advantage for those patients. Another advantage is an easier recovery process, so patients who are treated with SBRT generally have less financial strain than those who undergo surgery,” Kleber said.
Does this indicate that SBRT should be the option for all early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients?
“No, but it does emphasize the importance of a multi-disciplinary care team to consider all options for their patients. For example, for patients whose tumors are more complex, larger, or located in certain areas, surgery remains the best treatment option. This study confirms that SBRT is an effective alternative that should be considered,” Chang said.
What methods were used in the study?
This trial compared 80 patients who were treated with SBRT to 80 who underwent surgery. The enrolled patients had tumors smaller than three centimeters, no lymph node involvement and no distant metastases. The surgical group received video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node removal.
At the CyberKnife Center of Miami we have treated hundreds of lung cancer patients successfully. It’s one of the treatments we do most often, and because our CyberKnife team has been using this technology the longest, we have one of the most experienced teams worldwide, and that can make a big difference in your treatment outcome.
Go to our website now to learn more, and call our lung cancer experts for more information at 305-279-2900. https://www.cyberknifemiami.com/lung-cancer-treatment/