The role of stereotactic body radiation therapy in the management of oligometastatic lung cancer

A growing body of evidence has surfaced over the past 20 years that supports the use of surgery for metastases limited in number termed ‘oligometastases’. Local therapy for oligometastases results in long progression free survival in the absence of systemic therapy, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) allows for the delivery of anatomically precise, ablative doses of radiation therapy able to achieve local control rates of approximately 80% with minimal toxicity.  In NSCLC, SBRT is emerging as an effective therapy in the management of sites resistant to targeted therapy. This review summarizes the published evidence for the use of local therapy in the management of oligometastatic cancer, with a focus on SBRT and NSCLC.

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