Preliminary study of stereotactic radiotherapy for lung cancer.

From March 1997 to November 1999, 45 patients with lung cancer were treated by a stereotactic radiotherapy, with 15 cases treated by a stereotactic radiotherapy alone, and 30 cases by the external radiotherapy plus stereotactic radiotherapy. The clinical target volume was 1.89-187.26 cm3 with the median being 18.17 cm3. The doses of plan target volume (PTV) edge was 16-30 Gy/2-3 times and the doses of center was 120% to 150% of PTV edge doses. The overall response rate was 84.4% (38/45), with 11 complete response (CR) and 27 partial response (PR). This study confirmed that the stereotactic radiotherapy is a safe and effective therapy for lung cancer. For those early-stage patients who can tolerate neither operation nor even conventional radiotherapy for various reasons, it can both achieve therapeutic purpose and improve quality of life.