Non-Invasive LungCancer Treatment

Stereotactic Ablative Radiosurgery (SABR) is endorsed in international cancer guidelines as an alternative option to surgery in selected patient groups, such as those with early stage (stage 1 & stage 2) lung cancers, or at high operative risk.

Patients wishing to find out more should consult a radiosurgeon (not a thoracic surgeon) who will assess each case, taking into account patient, tumour and technical factors, to determine if SABR is appropriate.

It is important to see the correct specialist with the pre-requisite training and expertise, so that the right assessment can be made, and treatment performed safely.

Radiosurgery packs all the dose usually given over 5–6 weeks, and gives it over 1–5 days.

The Radiosurgeon is a Radiation Oncologist who is trained in both radiotherapy, oncology, and the complex technologies used to deliver Radiosurgery. Since radiation is the 'knife' which 'cuts' the tumour, it is critical that the Radiosurgeon is well trained with radiation medicine.

Radiosurgery and Proton Beam Therapy are both precision radiation therapies.

Radiosurgery avoids treating normal tissue by sophisticated beam shaping and modulation, while Proton Beam avoids treating normal tissue by reducing dose deposition during the exit of the beam. They can be used in combination, depending on the location of the target and the diagnosis of the patient.

Surgery for lung cancer is a major operation and can have serious side effects, which is why it isn't a good idea for everyone. In general, some of the potential risks and complications of lung cancer surgery may include:

• Reactions to anaesthesia
• Excessive bleeding
• Damage to a lung, blood vessel, nerve or the heart
• Blood clots in the lung or legs

Rarely, some people may not survive the surgery. Recovering from lung cancer surgery typically takes weeks to months and your activity might be limited for at least a month or two.

Finally, in a proportion of patients, surgery may be incomplete and remnants of the tumour are left behind. In such situations, these patients will still require further radiation, resulting in them having to undergo 2 treatments instead of one.

It is not true that having radiation first will make surgery impossible in the future. In fact, in certain lung cancer situations, it is standard protocol to have radiation and/or chemotherapy before surgery, in order to shrink the tumour so it can be completely resected.

Moreover, with modern radiotherapy equipment and techniques, radiation oncologists are now able to precisely target the tumour while limiting damage to the surrounding tissues, thus minimising the risk of complications from subsequent surgery.

It is therefore important to see a sub-specialised radiation oncologist and lung cancer surgeon, who are both confident of managing these situations.