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Stereotactic radiosurgery - CyberKnife

Stereotactic radiotherapy; SRT; Stereotactic body radiotherapy; SBRT; Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy; SRS; CyberKnife; CyberKnife radiosurgery; Non-invasive neurosurgery; Brain tumor - CyberKnife; Brain cancer - CyberKnife; Brain metastases - CyberKnife; Parkinson - CyberKnife; Epilepsy - CyberKnife; Tremor - CyberKnife

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-power energy on a small area of the body. Despite its name, radiosurgery is a treatment, not a surgical procedure. Incisions (cuts) are not made on your body.

More than one type of machine and system can be used to perform radiosurgery. This article is about radiosurgery using the system called CyberKnife.

Description

SRS targets and treats an abnormal area. The radiation is tightly focused, which minimizes damage to nearby healthy tissue.

During treatment:

Each treatment takes about 30 minutes to 2 hours. You may receive more than one treatment session, but usually no more than five sessions.

Why the Procedure Is Performed

SRS is more likely to be recommended for people who are too high risk for conventional surgery. This may be due to age or other health problems. SRS may be recommended because the area to be treated is too close to vital structures inside the body.

CyberKnife is often used to slow the growth of or completely destroy small, deep brain tumors that are hard to remove during conventional surgery.

Tumors of the brain and nervous system that can be treated using CyberKnife include:

Other cancers that can be treated include:

Other medical problems treated with CyberKnife are:

Risks

SRS may damage tissue around the area being treated. As compared to other types of radiation therapy, CyberKnife treatment is much less likely to damage nearby healthy tissue.

Brain swelling may occur in people who receive treatment to the brain. Swelling usually goes away without treatment. But some people may need medicines to control this swelling. In rare cases, surgery with incisions (open surgery) is needed to treat the brain swelling caused by the radiation.

Before the Procedure

Before the treatment, you will have MRI or CT scans. These images help your doctor determine the specific treatment area.

The day before your procedure:

The day of your procedure:

After the Procedure

Often, you can go home about 1 hour after the treatment. Arrange ahead of time for someone to drive you home. You can go back to your regular activities the next day if there are no complications, such as swelling. If you have complications, you may need to stay in the hospital overnight for monitoring.

Follow instructions for how to care for yourself at home.

Outlook (Prognosis)

The effects of CyberKnife treatment may take weeks or months to be seen. Prognosis depends on the condition being treated. Your provider will likely monitor your progress using imaging tests such as MRI and CT scans.

Related Information

Radiation therapy
Acoustic neuroma
Cerebral arteriovenous malformation
Brain tumor - primary - adults
Epilepsy in children - discharge
Epilepsy or seizures - discharge
Stereotactic radiosurgery - discharge
Epilepsy in adults - what to ask your doctor
Epilepsy in children - what to ask your doctor

References

Gregoire V, Lee N, Hamoir M, Yu Y. Radiation therapy and management of the cervical lymph nodes and malignant skull base tumors. In: Flint PW, Francis HW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 117.

Linskey ME, Kuo JV. General and historical considerations of radiotherapy and radiosurgery. In: Winn HR, ed. Youmans and Winn Neurological Surgery. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 290.

Zeman EM, Schreiber EC, Tepper JE. Basics of radiation therapy. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Kastan MB, Doroshow JH, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 27.

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Review Date: 4/29/2022  

Reviewed By: Todd Gersten, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Wellington, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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