SynthesisEuropace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology2024
Stereotactic cardiac radiotherapy for refractory ventricular tachycardia in structural heart disease patients: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Technical aspects of SBRT for therapy-refractory ventricular tachycardia: a systematic review for radiation oncologists.Radiation oncology (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Refractory Ventricular Tachycardia: From Serendipity to Precision Biological Ablation.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Electrical storm treated with radiation therapy in a patient with ischaemic cardiomyopathy and left ventricular thrombus: a case report.European heart journal. Case reports · 2026Article
- Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation for refractory ventricular tachycardia: A narrative review and pooled analysis of clinical outcomes and treatment delivery approaches.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2026Review
- Stereotactic radioablation for ventricular tachycardia in patients untreatable by catheter ablation: evidence of efficacy, safety, and impact on coronary arteries.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2026Article
- Epicardial mapping and ablation after stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation for ventricular tachycardia using a novel mapping catheter.HeartRhythm case reports · 2025Article
- Target delineation workflow and outcomes of stereotactic cardiac radioablation.Heart rhythm O2 · 2025Article
- Rethinking imaging protocols, training models, and target delineation in cardiac radioablation.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025Article
- Stellate Ganglion Phototherapy Using a Portable Radiation Device, for Destination Therapy of Drug-Refractory Ventricular Tachycardia.CJC open · 2025Article
- Excellent interobserver agreement and steep learning curve for target volume delineation for stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation using a commercial software.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025Article
- STAR Locally Prolongs Effective Refractory Period and Increases Ventricular Tachycardia Cycle Length Without Short-Term Scar Formation or Functional Decline: Insights From a Translational Porcine Model Study.Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology · 2025Article
- Cardiac rehabilitation in porcine models: Advances in therapeutic strategies for ischemic heart disease.Zoological research · 2025Review
- Establishing protocols and standards for cardiac radioablation: a path toward clinical integration.Radiation oncology journal · 2025Article
- Aiming for the STARs: radiotherapy for ventricular tachycardia-bright future or cosmic gamble?Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsAmong patients with structural heart disease with ventricular tachycardia (VT) refractory to medical therapy and catheter ablation, cardiac stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a paradigm-changing treatment option. This study aims to assess the efficacy of cardiac SBRT in refractory VT by comparing the rates of VT episodes, anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) therapies, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shocks post-SBRT with pre-SBRT. METHODS AND
resultsWe performed a comprehensive literature search and included all clinical studies reporting outcomes on cardiac SBRT for VT. Treatment efficacy was evaluated as random-effects pooled rate-ratios of VT episodes, ATP therapies and ICD shocks post-SBRT (after 6-week blanking) and pre-SBRT, with patients serving as their own controls. Post-SBRT overall survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier method. We included 23 studies published 2017-24 reporting on 225 patients who received cardiac SBRT, with median follow-up 5.8-28 months. There was significant heterogeneity among the studies for all three efficacy endpoints (P < 0.00001). The random-effects pooled rate-ratios of VT episodes, ATP therapies and ICD shocks post- vs. pre-SBRT were 0.10 (95% CI 0.06, 0.16), 0.09 (0.05, 0.15), and 0.09 (0.05, 0.17), respectively (all P < 0.00001). The most common reported complications included pericardial (8.0%, including 0.9% late oesophagogastro-pericardial fistula) and pulmonary (5.8%). There was no change in left ventricular ejection fraction post-SBRT (P = 0.3) but some studies reported an increase in mitral regurgitation. The combined 3-, 12-, and 24-month overall patient survival was 0.86 (0.80, 0.90), 0.72 (0.65, 0.78), and 0.57 (0.47, 0.67), respectively.
conclusionAmong patients with refractory VT in context of structural heart disease, VT burden and ICD shocks are dramatically reduced following cardiac SBRT. The overall mortality in this population with heart failure and refractory VT receiving palliative cardiac SBRT remains high.
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