Benjamin Movsas MD

Dr. Benjamin Movsas, MD, Chair of Radiation Oncology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, served as moderator at a press conference where the two SBRT studies by Timmerman et al and Ashworth et al were reported.1,2 Dr. Movsas said that SBRT is a promising approach, noting that the therapy facilitates delivery of precise local radiation therapy which is generally well tolerated. For example, Dr. Movsas said “I treated one of my NSCLC patients with SBRT when he was 85 years old; he is now 88 years old and playing golf. This patient, and those in Dr. Timmerman’s trial, would never have had surgery.”

Dr. Movsas noted that at Henry Ford Hospital SBRT is used primarily for patients with medically inoperable lung cancer. “However, we also offer SBRT as a secondary alternative for patients who decline surgery. These cases are presented to a multidisciplinary tumor board,” he said.

Dr. Movsas said that an estimated 40% to 50% of all centers in the United States are poised to use SBRT.