Article Courtesy of St. Mary’s Medical Center
Cancer Patients who might have once been told there were no treatment options available to them have a new ally at St. Mary’s Medical Center.
The CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System, the world’s first and only commercially-available radiosurgery system, is designated to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy.
On July 30, physicians and staff members at St. Mary’s began treating cancer patients with the CyberKnife System, offering all cancer patients in the region a new weapon in the war on their disease.
“Part of the mission and values of this hospital for more than 80 years has been to be the facility that brings new technology to the area. It’s something that St. Mary’s believes very strongly in,” said Renee Maass, Director of Marketing. “With CyberKnife, not only is it the only system like it in the Tri-State, but it’s also the only one in the state of West Virginia.”
Manufactured by Accuray, CyberKnife’s image guidance technology and computer-controlled robotics are intelligent enough to continually track, detect and correct for tumors and patient movement throughout the treatment period. Because of its unparalleled precision, invasive head and body frames are not required.
Key physicians who will be involved in offering this new form of cancer treatment include neurosurgeons David Weinsweig, M.D., Rida Mazagri, M.D., and Panos Ignatiadis, M.D. and Philip Lepanto, M.D. CyberKnife has the ability to treat both intracranial and extracranial tumors, including those of the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. Traditional radiosurgery systems have previously only had the ability to treat tumors in the head and neck; since the creation of the CyberKnife system, extracranial treatments have accounted for more than 50 percent of the procedures performed in the United States. Perhaps the greatest advantage for potential CyberKnife patients is the ability to treat many patients who were considered to have inoperable or surgically complex tumors.
“This is technology that can benefit patients in the region and extend their lives. It also gives hope to patients not eligible for other treatments,” said Dr. Vera Rose, Vice President of Oncology Services. “We had to do everything in our power to bring it here.”
The CyberKnife system functions differently than conventional radiosurgery at every stage of the clinical process, according to the manufacturer. From treatment planning, to selecting the appropriate option for each patient, to incorporating multiple beams of raditation from various angles, CyberKnife offers a significant advantage in radiosurgery.
“This is a form of radiation therapy given in a very concise manner,” Rose said. “It’s high doses of radiation therapy given in a small area over a shorter period of time.”
Traditional radiosurgery is a constrictive process. Patients are secured with a rigid metal frame designed to immobilize the head to prevent damage to the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. Because of the technological advances of the CyberKnife system, high doses of radiation can still be given without the burden of the metal head frame. The sub-millimeter accuracy of the unit has enabled treatment for tumors in other parts of the body, and because of the non-invasive nature of the procedure, patients can have more flexibility in scheduling appointments – both in fewer treatment sessions and shortened treatment times.
“Even people who are not medically fit to undergo surgery because of other factors can have this treatment because it spares the healthy tissue around the tumor. There is minimal radiation damage to the surrounding tissue,” Rose said. “It is also a great benefit to patients in that instead of having 30 treatments, they may only need two or three. This is beneficial to people who are traveling a distance to get here. They can come three days in a row and be finished.”
The breadth of treatment options with CyberKnife is greatly expanded over that of its conventional radiosurgery brethren. Unlimited beam positions and the system’s ability to utilize the skeletal structure of the body as a reference have enabled treatment of previously unreachable intracranial tumors including skull base tumors and those located in the upper cervical spine areas. Additionally, the unit allows for simultaneous treatment of multiple tumors.
“One of the beauties of this is that it’s cancer treatment you can life with,” Maass said. “People have their treatments and are able to proceed with their lives.”
For most patients, primary concerns about CyberKnife include potential side effects and the level of ease they feel with the actual treatment process. St. Mary’s has gone to great lengths in making the CyberKnife process as gentle as possible for patients.
“In order to make patients more comfortable, the vault that houses the CyberKnife has been set up to be a calming and soothing experience,” Rose said. “You can view and illuminated nature scene – something very relaxing – during the short treatment period. We’ve done everything we can to make this as comfortable as possible for the patient.” Because CyberKnife utilizes minimally-invasive technology, side effects are generally mild.
“Occasionally, patients might experience some mild fatigue, or a slight skin reddening,” Rose explained. “Compared to standard radiation treatment, this is vastly improved.”
Since its creation, 20,000 people across the country have been treated with CyberKnife. Potential patients in the Tri-State are currently being accepted and screened to determine if they are candidates for CyberKnife’s technology.