Binational phase 2-3 study of SBRT versus conventional EBRT for painful spinal metastases

A phase 2-3 study in Canada and Australia compared stereotactic body radiotherapy (24 Gy in two daily fractions) versus conventional external beam radiotherapy (20 Gy in five daily fractions) in patients with painful spinal metastases. Complete pain response at three months after completion of radiotherapy was seen in 35% of patients in the SBRT group versus 14% of patients in the conventional EBRT group (p=0.0002). This significant difference was maintained in multivariable-adjusted analyses (OR 3.47; p=0.0003).