Surgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: prospective clinical trials of the past, the present, and the future

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may be a potential alternative to surgical resection in high-risk operable patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A number of clinical studies have been undertaken to answer this question, although the conclusion has remained undetermined. Although three randomized clinical trials have failed, currently several prospective clinical trials are ongoing on SBRT versus surgery for early-stage NSCLC. This review article was designed to overview the previous and ongoing clinical trials and to discuss the future perspectives in the comparisons.