Spine Tumors
At the Cyberknife Institute at Mercy Hospital, we are providing more new opportunities to treat cancer than have previously existed, due to the advanced technology of the Cyberknife. As a result, we’re providing new hope for patients who traditionally have few alternatives for successful treatment, as is sometime the case with Spine Tumors. With the latest and most powerful CyberKnife system, we can dramatically reduce the number of radiotherapy sessions, and avoid delaying the start of chemotherapy, or disrupting chemotherapy cycles.
Metastases To Spine and Bone
Metastatic tumors in the spine and bone are particularly treatable with CyberKnife, as are osseous metastases. This includes those that are contraindicated for surgical resection and conventional radiotherapy.
Medically Inoperable Disease
Because Cyberknife is noninvasive, it can treat patients who can’t endure surgery, have a high risk for postoperative complications, and are too sick for chemotherapy. With CyberKnife, treatment takes one to five short sessions, after which patients can immediately return to their lives. All with far less risk, side effects, recovery period, scarring and hospital stay than surgery.
Spine Unresectable & Marginally Resectable Tumors
Many spine-localized solid mass tumors that are not resectable may still be treatable – and effectively - by CyberKnife. The same is true for those that are marginally resectable. CyberKnife can also be used preoperatively to reduce tumor volume to make it more easily resected.
Tumors Adjacent To Critical Structures
CyberKnife’s submillimeter precision means we’re able to destroy or shrink tumors near to or involved with critical structures. In some cases, critical structures may be the reason a tumor is considered unresectable or only marginally resectable. Tumor proximity to critical structures also increases risk of surgical complication. With significantly less irradiation of surrounding tissues, CyberKnife can even treat tumors untreatable with convention radiotherapy because of nearby critical anatomy.
Prior Radiation Treatment
With conventional radiation therapy, previous treatment often precludes future radiotherapy. With CyberKnife, however, high-dose, short course, focused treatment is so precise that cumulative exposure is significantly less. Therefore, previous radiation treatment is not a contraindication for CyberKnife.
Tumors With High Risk Of Recurrence
For tumor types known to have a high likelihood of recurrence, CyberKnife’s low cumulative exposure makes it an ideal treatment option. If the tumor recurs, the patient can be treated with CyberKnife again (and perhaps multiple times) or be treated with other forms of radiation.
Radioresistant Tumors
It’s true that some tumor types are resistant to the radiobiological ablation, which destroys the tumor while preserving surrounding tissue.
Palliation
While it isn’t indicated for cases of obstructive viscera, CyberKnife can destroy or shrink tumors for reasons of pain relief even if cure is no longer an option.
Tumors That Move
For tumors in the chest or abdomen, respiratory motion complicates radiation treatment.
The CyberKnife Synchrony System
tracks the tumor’s location and movement, and its ablative beam moves in synchrony with the patient’s respiratory pattern and responds to any shifts in the target’s position, maintaining precision throughout treatment.
Adjunct Therapy
With its comparatively low cumulative does and significantly reduced impact on patients, CyberKnife Radiosurgery can be used in combination with other treatments to maximize treatment success.
