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Benefits
Conditions Treated
Frequently Asked Questions
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The CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery System, offered by Saint Louis University Hospital and the physicians of Saint Louis University, is a noninvasive outpatient treatment without the risks and complications associated with traditional open surgery.
Now there is a treatment option for tumors and lesions in the brain, lung, neck and spine that may have been previously considered inoperable or inaccessible by radiation therapy. The CyberKnife allows for treatment of the liver, pancreas and early stage prostate cancer.
Potential Benefits of CyberKnife Treatment
- better quality of life during and after treatment
- better access to hard-to-reach, larger or previously inoperable tumors
- more accurate radiation targeting for minimal radiation exposure to surrounding tissue
- ability to treat multiple tumors in different locations during a single session
- treatment of lesions that have previously undergone the maximum allowed dose of traditional radiation therapy
- improved comfort due to the elimination of an invasive head frame
- no incision or scalpel
- no blood loss
- no anesthesia required for treatment
- no recovery time
- immediate return to normal activities
- fewer complications than traditional surgery such as infection, hemorrhage or nerve damage
- Malignant brain tumors: astrocytomas, gliomas, intracranial metastases, nasopharyngeal carcinomas
- Benign brain tumors: acoustic neuromas, benign intracranial, craniopharngiomos, hemangioblastomas, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, schwannomas
- Vascular malformations: arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), cavernous malformations
- Extracranial tumors and lesions: base of skull, head and neck, spine/bone (cervical, lumbar, thoracic, sacral, pelvic), liver, lung, pancreas and prostate
What is CyberKnife radiosurgery?
CyberKnife radiosurgery is a noninvasive radiation treatment that can be used as an alternative to open surgery in certain cases. It uses image-guided robotics designed to destroy tumors with precisely directed beams of radiation. It may improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for some patients with malignant and benign lesions of the brain, spine and neck.
The CyberKnife uses high doses of focused radiation beams delivered from multiple points outside the body to irradiate the tumor or lesion. Each individual beam is not sufficient to cause harm, but the convergence of all the beams at the target results in the tumor or lesion receiving a very high dose of radiation while sparing nearby normal tissue.
The CyberKnife's targeting system may offer many patients improved tumor control with few side effects and fewer treatments. In fact, treatment that may have required as many as 30 sessions with conventional radiation therapy may be reduced to one to five sessions for 60 to 90 minutes each.
How does the CyberKnife work?
The CyberKnife, paired with other hospital imaging technology, allows our specialists to customize a treatment plan for each patient. Our physicists use a complex program to determine a treatment plan for each patient based on the unique shape and location of the tumor. The planning process determines the positions of the beams of radiation.
Through the use of technology, the CyberKnife system locates the position of the tumor and uses a robotic arm to deliver highly focused beams of radiation to the tumor. The robotic arm's range of motion allows for radiation to be delivered to tumor sites that are unreachable when using most other stereotactic treatment procedures.
Because of its high precision, the CyberKnife at Saint Louis University Hospital can, without surgical incisions, go inside the body to achieve a surgical-like treatment.
What conditions are treated with the CyberKnife at Saint Louis University Hospital?
Specialists at Saint Louis University Hospital are using this new tool to treat brain tumors and tumors on or near the spine. In addition to treating newly diagnosed tumors, it can be used to treat sites that have had prior radiotherapy, an option that may be impossible with standard radiation techniques.
The CyberKnife can also treat malignant and benign tumors of the lungs, pancreas, prostate and liver.
What are the steps for treatment?
Radiosurgery using the CyberKnife generally requires one to five treatments. Before you begin treatment, you will visit us first so we can prepare a customized facemask or other device (for spine patients). This will help stablilize your body during treatment. Preparation is noninvasive.
Also on the first visit, we will produce a set of CT and MRI images of the tumor and surrounding tissues. These images will be used to plan your treatment.
Patients being treated for spine or other tumors or lesions outside the head may need to undergo placement of "fiducials" or special markers near the tumor prior to treatment. Placement of fiducials is done as a minor outpatient procedure using local anesthetic.
On the day of actual treatment, the patient lies on a table and wears the custom fit face-mask or stabiilze while the robtic arm delivers the radiation. Most treatments last about an hour, after which the patient can go home.
Who will be involved in my treatment?
A specially trained team of highly qualified medicine experts operates the CyberKnife. Team members include a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, physicist, radiation therapy technicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
How do I schedule a CyberKnife treatment?
Our physicians need to carefully review each potential patient's medical history and clinical condition to determine whether or not the CyberKnife is an appropriate treatment option.
Contact Us
If you are interested in the CyberKnife, you or your physician can contact us at
1-866-40cyber. |