To biopsy or not to biopsy: A matched cohort analysis of early stage lung cancer treated with stereotactic radiation with or without histologic confirmation.

In our population, we found no clinically significant difference in patterns of recurrence or survival after lung SBRT, for clinically versus pathologically diagnosed patients. There was however a trend toward more distant recurrences in the pathological diagnosis group. Our power calculation suggests that data from multiple institutions would be required to rule out a difference in outcomes due to 5 to 15% of clinically diagnosed patients being treated for benign processes.