Turin, Italy: Researchers have found that treating patients who have early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a type of radiotherapy called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is associated with a small but increased risk of death from causes other than cancer.
In particular, they found that high doses to the left atrium of the heart and the superior vena cava (the large vein carrying deoxygenated blood from the head, arms and upper body to the heart) had the strongest association and increased risk of non-cancer death.