Site Map

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 of the body. Using many tiny beams, radiation is tightly focused on the cancer, 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 using 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 and tumor breakdown (called necrosis) 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.

For cancers near the ribs and chest wall, sometimes pain may develop or even a rib fracture months after treatment.

For some cancers near the top of the lung, nerves in the arm be damaged by the radiation in rare cases.

Before the Procedure

Before the treatment, you will have MRI or CT scans or both. You may also have a PET scan. These images help your radiation doctor (usually a radiation oncologist) 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. The prognosis depends on the condition being treated. Your provider will likely monitor your progress using imaging tests such as MRI and CT scans. PET scans and blood tests.

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.

BACK TO TOP

Review Date: 5/29/2024  

Reviewed By: David Herold, MD, Radiation Oncologist in Jupiter, 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.

ADAM Quality Logo
Health Content Provider
06/01/2025

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, for Health Content Provider (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics. This site complied with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information from 1995 to 2022, after which HON (Health On the Net, a not-for-profit organization that promoted transparent and reliable health information online) was discontinued.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- 2024 A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.