Long-term data support success of CyberKnife technology for neurosurgery
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
In a company release, Accuray Inc. announced its CyberKnife radiotherapy platform, which delivers stereotactic radiosurgery to treat lesions in the brain, was supported by more than 2 decades of globally driven clinical data.
Most recent data on the efficacy of the platform were published online in the Journal of Neurosurgery, detailing an analysis of 7,000 patients with brain or spinal lesions treated at Stanford University School of Medicine.
According to the release, analysis demonstrated that CyberKnife, a noninvasive approach to remediation of a broad range of brain and spinal lesions, is increasingly being used to expand the benefits of radiosurgery.
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) was developed to provide a non-invasive approach for the treatment of intracranial lesions. Technological advancement in the specialty resulted in an improved ability to focus a radiotherapy beam, broadening the ways in which SRS could identify lesions in the brain and spine that were formerly untreatable.
"More than 25 years after the first brain tumor treatment with the CyberKnife platform, customers worldwide continue to identify new ways to leverage its unique architecture and push the boundaries of radiosurgery to improve their patients' care," Jean-Philippe Pignol, MD, PhD, chief medical and technology officer at Accuray, said in the release.
"The Journal of Neurosurgery analysis shows the platform can be used to treat a broad range of neurological conditions at various stages in the treatment journey — from first-line to adjuvant therapy and palliation — reinforcing its use in daily practice. The advantages of the platform's robotic design and Synchrony real-time image guidance make it an ideal choice for hospitals that want to offer exceptional care today and into the future."
Stanford University-based neurosurgeon John R. Adler, MD, developed the Cyberknife platform in 1994. In the last 25 years, the CyberKnife has become a common tool to treat a wide range of lesions, functional diseases and vascular disorders.
The platform provides SRS with submillimeter accuracy during the course of one to five sessions in a time frame of roughly 1 week to 2 weeks, which is a shorter treatment course for patients that appears to promote a positive impact on their quality of life.
Editor's note: This article was updated Dec. 16, 2021, to indicate that CyberKnife delivers stereotactic radiosurgery to treat lesions in the brain. The editors regret the error.