A case of severe hemoptysis after stereotactic body radiotherapy for peripherally located stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

In stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for centrally located non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), severe hemoptysis has been reported in several studies. We report here a rare case of hemoptysis after SBRT even though the lung tumor was peripherally located. A lung nodule of a 79-year-old man was accidentally found at the periphery of the left upper lobe. A computed tomography-guided biopsy of this nodule provided confirmation of the diagnosis of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. The clinical diagnosis was T1bN0M0, stage I primary lung cancer. The patient was treated with SBRT using helical tomotherapy at a dose of 60 Gy in 6 fractions (i.e., BED10 = 120). He obtained a complete response and did not experience recurrence. However, the patient suffered massive hemoptysis 4.5 years after SBRT. As hypervascularity of a left bronchial artery was observed at the left lung in accordance with SBRT field on bronchial arteriography, a bronchial artery embolization (BAE) procedure was performed. The patient has had no episodes of hemoptysis after BAE. Although SBRT for early stage NSCLC is usually safe and efficient, it is necessary to be careful for late-onset bronchial hemorrhage in SBRT, even for a peripheral tumor.