Radiosurgery and How Cyberknife is Different from Other Systems - Cyber Knife Radio surgery in India

Radiosurgery and How Cyberknife is Different from Other Systems

Although Radiosurgery has been used for over 30 years to treat both cancerous and benign tumors and growths, Cyberknife is a very new concept and different than its counterparts. Radiosurgery does not remove the tumors, rather it uses high doses of radiation to destroy the tumor cells and stop the growth of active cells. Multiple beams of radiation produced by a linear accelerator are directed at the abnormal growth within the body.

Various radiosurgery systems are available, the most most widely used being the Gamma Knife and modified linear accelerators. Cyberknife's distinction advantage over the other options is its precision, which enables physicians to maximize the amount of radiation that reaches the tumor or abnormal growth while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue and organs.

Cyberknife Treatment Procedures

Cyber knife treatment works in mainly two ways. In the first methodology, lightweight radiation delivery equipment is inserted on a multi-jointed robotic arm, so that it can be easily reach tumors in any part of the body. In the second method, the technique uses image guidance system, which allows the Cyberknife therapy to track and allocate the tumor.

CyberKnife uses image guidance and robotics to maintain a high degree of precision and is particularly useful for tumors that are close to critical structures.

The biggest advantages which the Cyber knife treatment offers are that no anesthesia is required, no hospitalization and no cuts or incisions at all. This means that there is no recovery time and everyday activities can be resumed immediately. Also, the treatment is undertaken in 1 to 6 sessions, which can be performed on either the same day or different days, as per the patient's convenience.

What does Cyber knife Surgery Treat?

The Cyberknife system has FDA clearance for treatment of tumors in any location of the body. Cyberknife surgery is administered for both cancerous and benign tumors. All stages, from I until IV (metastases) can be treated. Following are treated using Cyberknife system:

• Cancers involving the brain
• Lung cancers
• Pancreatic cancers
• Metastatic liver cancers
• Cancers involving the spine
• Benign brain tumors
• Malformations of blood vessels within the brain
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Metastatic orbital tumors, orbital lymphomas and orbital inflammations (tumors or inflammations around the eye)

Cyberknife Treatment Cannot be Used

For tumors or metastases bigger than 3-4 cms., in which case they are treated via a similar radiotheraphy called IMRT( or Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy), which is not as precise as Cyberknife but the results are good if the tumors are not solid.

Common Conditions Treatable By CyberKnife 

Radiosurgery

• Astrocytoma, Glioma, Glioblastoma Multiforme, Oligodendroglioma : - CyberKnife offers superior conformance to tumour shape, which is important especially for recurrence after surgery and conventional radiotherapy. CyberKnife can also irradiate the tumour bed to delay or prevent recurrence.

• Brain metastases : -  Radiosurgery may be equal to surgery for single metastases and better for multiple metastases. Advanced imaging allows CyberKnife® to treat those that are widely dispersed.

• Spinal Tumours : - CyberKnife® is regularly used to treat spinal metastases. It may also serve as a treatment for many primary spinal tumours.

• Pituitary Adenoma : - CyberKnife's® staged treatments may help to avoid or minimize the risk of visual loss and other side effects associated with single-session radiosurgery. Its superior conformance minimizes irradiation of normal tissue, including the optic chiasm and hypothalamus.

• Hemangioblastoma : -  CyberKnife® non-invasively treats the tumour nodule, usually in one session, even in hard-to-reach areas. This is especially beneficial for Von Hippel Lindau disease patients who can become disabled by multiple surgeries.

• Skull Base Tumours : -  The proximity of these tumours to vital nerve and vascular structures makes them surgically problematic.

• Meningioma :- For smaller meningiomas, radiosurgery is an ideally non-invasive therapy. CyberKnife® is especially safe for meningiomas adjacent to critical structures because it can be delivered in fractions.

• Neurofibroma & Schwannoma : - While these tumours' resistance to radiation makes conventional radiotherapy an option only when surgery is not, CyberKnife's® conformance makes it an effective alternative to radiation therapy and surgery for selected patients.

• Acoustic Neuroma : - Studies show that CyberKnife® treatment in stages offers the highest rates ever achieved for hearing and facial-nerve preservation besides effective control of the tumour-growth.

• Intracranial AVMs : - With CyberKnife®, we can treat locations that can't be safely approached with microsurgery or endovascular therapy. Selected AVMs have an 80% chance of disappearing after a single treatment session though it may take some time. CyberKnife® can also be used in conjunction with other therapies to remove remnants.

• Spinal AVMs : - CyberKnife® is the first and the only system to offer radiosurgical treatment of spinal AVMs .It provides the same or even more accuracy and success as for intracranial AVMs

Benefits of Cyberknife Surgery

Cyber knife treatment of Cancer is an extirely new approach and offers many advantages over other methods. It is a noninvasive alternative for patients who are not ideally suited for or are unable to undergo traditional surgery. The benefits include:

• No anesthesia
• No pain
• No incisions
• No bleeding
• Immediate return to normal routine
• Completely frameless
• No hospitalization
• Minimal radiation exposure to healthy tissues and organs
• Even if tumors have received the maximum allowed dosage of radiation, they can still be treated.

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