Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is a procedure that uses special equipment to position the patient and precisely deliver a large dose of radiation directly to a tumour, thus avoiding surrounding healthy tissue. This procedure does not use surgery. It is mostly used to treat brain tumours and other brain disorders. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer, such as kidney cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.

This review summarises the evidence regarding the use of SABR for treating localised and advanced kidney cancer. SABR improved outcomes in some patients with localised and metastatic kidney cancer, and was able to control the cancer. SABR was also very tolerable for the patients.

SABR was found to be an effective treatment option for frail patients and those with other diseases or medical conditions who also had kidney cancer. In addition, medication was delayed by at least a year in patients with small numbers of metastases using SABR.

SABR is a viable treatment option for patients with kidney cancer and can be safely combined with medication for patients with metastatic kidney cancer.

Read more in Practice Update here