A review of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) from the molecular radiobiology perspective

Abstract

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a relatively new therapy being used to treat patients with many types of extracranial tumors and some metastases. Clinically, SBRT is well documented and research continues to grow and demonstrate the promising effects of SBRT on patients. Much advancement has been made technically as well, including better techniques for immobilizing patients and tumors. In this paper, emphasis is placed on reviewing the advancements and discoveries of SBRT which are related to molecular radiation biology. These studies include molecular comparisons of high- and low-dose radiation tactics, and molecular methods for improving the outcome of SBRT, including advancements in tumor cell tracking, strategies for increasing the speed of SBRT, and mechanisms behind normal tissue responses after high-dose radiation. Overall, there is still a relatively large amount of basic molecular unknowns involved in SBRT, and continued research is greatly anticipated.