Substantial imbalance that is never eliminated with propensity score matched analyses in comparing surgery to stereotactic body radiotherapy for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer

Currently, lobar resection is the standard of care for medically operable patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is preferred for patients deemed medically inoperable and those who wish to avoid surgery (1). However, it has not yet been established and remains controversial whether surgical resection or SBRT is superior for high-risk, operable patients.