Friday, April 26, 2024

Cyberknife Radiosurgery For Prostate Cancer

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How Can A Radiosurgery Help Patients With Metastases Developed From The Prostate Cancer

Life changing prostate cancer treatment at Phoenix Cyberknife & Radiation Oncology Center

There are evidence available at the global level showing that radiosurgery is a safe, tolerable and efficient method in case of oligometastatic prostate cancer to treat metastases in lymph nodes and bones. Due to this method further spread of the cancer is slowed down both in terms of biochemistry and clinically, and it is proved that one can wait 2 more years before starting the hormone therapy.

How Cyberknife Treatment Is Performed

Before treatment, the CyberKnife surgeon conducts a variety of scans on the patient to map the tumor 3 dimensionally. During therapy, the patient lies under a robotic device, computer-controlled to move around the patient and focus radiation precisely on the area of treatment.

The radiation dosage is determined by the properties of the individual tumor, such as its location, size, shape and density. The tumor shape is precisely marked, allowing CyberKnife to determine its position within just 1 millimeter, even if the patient moves or the tumors position changes slightly. Most tumors tend to shift during various treatments due to changes in their size and shape. CyberKnife compensates for this with continual image guidance throughout treatment.

CyberKnifes 360-degree movement allows it to deliver radiation beams at hundreds of different angles, precisely targeting the tumor. This reduces the amount of healthy tissue that is damaged during treatment, dramatically reducing side effects from treatment.

CyberKnife patients generally can go home immediately. Doctors usually monitor a patients progress via scans weeks or months after treatment, depending upon the condition being treated.

How Effective Is It

The efficacy outcomes of CyberKnife treatment for prostate cancer have been comparable to other treatment outcomes at five years. Certain outcomes, such as bladder incontinence, have been greatly improved with the CyberKnife treatment as compared to surgery and other invasive prostate treatments. Follow-up with the radiation oncologist and primary care or urologist will involve measurement of serum prostate specific antigen levels, which is the best measure of disease control. PSA levels may change, but over time the patient can anticipate the levels to trend lower or decrease, indicating that the prostate cancer has been ablated by the high-dose radiation.

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Proton Beam Radiation Therapy

Proton beam therapy focuses beams of protons instead of x-rays on the cancer. Unlike x-rays, which release energy both before and after they hit their target, protons cause little damage to tissues they pass through and release their energy only after traveling a certain distance. This means that proton beam radiation can, in theory, deliver more radiation to the prostate while doing less damage to nearby normal tissues. Proton beam radiation can be aimed with techniques similar to 3D-CRT and IMRT.

Although in theory proton beam therapy might be more effective than using x-rays, so far studies have not shown if this is true. Right now, proton beam therapy is not widely available. The machines needed to make protons are very expensive, and they arent available in many centers in the United States. Proton beam radiation might not be covered by all insurance companies at this time.

What Type Of Cancers Can Be Treated With Cyberknife

CyberKnife Treatments for Prostate Cancer  Tampa Bay Radiation ...

As of now, cyberknife treatment is preferred for adults the curative aspect of it is being explored in early benign lesions, arteriovenous malformations, meningiomas, trigeminal neuralgia, etc. However, as an adjuvant and palliative treatment, it is being used in the following cancers-

Brain, Spine, and Skull-Base Tumors– Cyberknife was actually developed for the treatment of brain and spine tumors. Traditional radiotherapy needed patients in a surgically attached framework to provide precise radiation to the brain tumors this is eliminated in cyberknife, which uses a tailor-made lightweight and open mesh face mask for precision.

As a result, the patient is more comfortable, which improves the overall experience the treatment requires one to five sessions to deliver the same dose of radiation which would take ten to thirty sessions by a traditional device.

Head and Neck Cancer– Cyberknife is being used to treat tumors that originate or metastasize to the head and neck. It is often used in combination with intensity modulated radiation therapy and chemotherapy. It can be used to treat tumors in the eye, nose, tongue, salivary glands, windpipe, etc., which in the previous days were only treated during that which resulted in severe disfigurement.

Pancreatic Cancer– Treating pancreatic cancer using conventional radiation therapy usually damages the adjacent liver, thus can be avoided using a cyberknife.

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Possible Risks And Side Effects Of Brachytherapy

Radiation precautions: If you get permanent brachytherapy, the seeds will give off small amounts of radiation for several weeks or months. Even though the radiation doesnt travel far, your doctor may advise you to stay away from pregnant women and small children during this time. If you plan on traveling, you might want to get a doctors note regarding your treatment, as low levels of radiation can sometimes be picked up by detection systems at airports.

There’s also a small risk that some of the seeds might move . You may be asked to strain your urine for the first week or so to catch any seeds that might come out. You may be asked to take other precautions as well, such as wearing a condom during sex. Be sure to follow any instructions your doctor gives you. There have also been reports of the seeds moving through the bloodstream to other parts of the body, such as the lungs. As far as doctors can tell, this is uncommon and doesnt seem to cause any ill effects.

These precautions arent needed after HDR brachytherapy, because the radiation doesnt stay in the body after treatment.

Bowel problems: Brachytherapy can sometimes irritate the rectum and cause a condition called radiation proctitis. Bowel problems such as rectal pain, burning, and/or diarrhea can occur, but serious long-term problems are uncommon.

Why Does Motion Synchronization Matter

Being able to precisely and accurately deliver radiation makes a difference in terms of controlling cancer and reducing the risk of side effects. But tumor or patient movement as a result of normal body functions, including regular breathing, filling of the bladder, or gas in the bowel can shift the tumor by a centimeter or more, which can make it challenging to accurately target the radiation and result in under- or over-dosing of the tumor. Too much radiation may increase the risk of side effects while too little may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment. Tracking the tumors movement and synchronizing the delivery of radiation with that movement helps to maximize treatment effectiveness, while minimizing dose to surrounding tissues, which can help reduce the incidence of side effects.

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Cyberknife Radiosurgery For Prostate Cancer

  • The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2015
  • The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2015
  • The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2015
  • The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2015
  • Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2007
  • The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2015
  • The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2015
  • Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2007
  • Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society2007

When And How You Are Going To Evaluate Whether The Radiosurgery Was Successful

Treating prostate cancer with CyberKnife radiation therapy: Tony Englert’s story

Control examinations for patients who had recurrence or metastases are waiting ahead, and it is too early to judge the efficiency. In case of ogliometastases, basing on the clinical studies, our tactics is as follows: PSA analyses 3 months later, where we look for changes, another PET/CT 6 months later to make sure whether the radiated nodi are inactive and no new nodus has appeared.

We will evaluate the results of this particular patient after 3 months. The first and the simplest indicator is PSA level in a blood test. If it drops and reaches even 0, the therapy is efficient. If PSA remains even slightly increased, PET/CT exam can be repeated after 6 months to see whether the tumor is still active at the same location and that would mean that the cancer cells have not reacted completely, and to also see whether any new nodus has developed.

The very method of the therapy is actually local, because CyberKnife precisely radiates only those nodi which we see at that moment both in the prostate and at locations where theyve spread. It does not rule out a possibility that cancer cells circulate in blood and theoretically can fix in a new location. The advantage of this radiosurgery procedure is that it can be repeated. Of course, there is one shortcoming, namely, the high costs of the procedure.

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Are There Any Surgical Techniques That Have Been Developed To Improve Erectile Function Outcomes

At this time, there are several different surgical approaches to carry out the surgery, including retropubic or perineal approaches as well as laparoscopic procedures with freehand or robotic instrumentation. Much debate but no consensus exists about the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches. Further study is needed before obtaining meaningful determinations of the success with different new approaches.

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Can I Get Sbrt For High

Yes, as of 2020, SBRT is considered a standard of care option for patients with high-risk and very-high risk prostate cancer. Dr. Kishan led the largest study of SBRT for high-risk prostate cancer, which was published in early 2021 and pooled data from seven trials from across the world . This study showed extremely favorable outcomes for SBRT for high- and very-high risk prostate cancer in a group of 344 patients.

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Possible Side Effects Of Ebrt

Some of the side effects from EBRT are the same as those from surgery, while others are different.

Bowel problems: Radiation can irritate the rectum and cause a condition called radiation proctitis. This can lead to diarrhea, sometimes with blood in the stool, and rectal leakage. Most of these problems go away over time, but in rare cases normal bowel function does not return. To help lessen bowel problems, you may be told to follow a special diet during radiation therapy to help limit bowel movement during treatment. Sometimes a balloon-like device or gel is put between the rectum and the prostate before treatment to act like a spacer to lessen the amount of radiation that reaches the rectum.

Urinary problems: Radiation can irritate the bladder and lead to a condition called radiation cystitis. You might need to urinate more often, have a burning sensation while you urinate, and/or find blood in your urine. Urinary problems usually improve over time, but in some men they never go away.

Some men develop urinary incontinence after treatment, which means they cant control their urine or have leakage or dribbling. As described in the surgery section, there are different levels and types of incontinence. Overall, this side effect occurs less often with radiation therapy than after surgery. The risk is low at first, but it goes up each year for several years after treatment.

Could This Particular Patient Have Been Treated With The Radiosurgery In The Very Beginning When The Cancer Was Located In The Prostate And Had No Metastases

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Speaking of this particular patient, we cannot be sure that we would be able to spare recurrence if he had been treated with CyberKnife instead of the surgery. We immediately recommend PET/CT exam to those patients to whom we assign radiosurgery procedure for treatment of primarily found prostate cancer. Then we can tell that there are no cancer cells in the surrounding lymph nodes. But also in this situation PET/CT exam does not give 100% guarantee, nevertheless, it necessarily reduces the risk to very considerable degree. However, there can be a patient who has received the best therapy and still has 1-2% likelihood of development of metastases. It is a problem.

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Who Is A Candidate For Cyberknife

CyberKnife can be used as a first-line treatment for early-stage prostate cancer. It can be combined with hormone therapy for cancer that has spread into nearby tissues. It can also be used to slow progression in advanced cancer or cancer that has recurred after previous treatment.

Prostate cancer treatment is not the same for everyone. Surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy are designed to do different things.

There are a few benefits of CyberKnife when compared to other treatments:

  • Theres no incision or pain, as you might have from surgery.
  • Theres no need for anesthesia or a hospital stay.
  • As soon as its over, you can get up and return to your normal activities.
  • Its a lot less time-consuming than conventional radiation or chemotherapy.
  • Theres no extended recovery period.

Another type of radiation used for prostate surgery is brachytherapy. It involves implanting radioactive pellets in your prostate. The pellets release radiation over a period of days or weeks. Its a good option for early-stage or low-grade prostate cancer. CyberKnife may be a better choice if you cant have anesthesia or if your anatomy makes brachytherapy difficult.

If you have treatment with CyberKnife, you may need other therapies as well. Your doctor will make a recommendation based on variables such as the stage and grade of the cancer, as well as your age and any other health conditions you may have.

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You can eat various types of other meats. I suggest to eat chicken,turkey,& lots of fish. I buy all natural chicken, all natural turkey,& wild caught & fresh fish.

I eat as much as I want of these type meats. I never thought Id like grounded turkey. I can honestly say that a turkey burger is much better than any hamburger I ever ate. I wouldnt have thought so but it honestly is a better taste & health option.

I eat all the chicken I want. I suggest you to bake it & not fry it in oils. If you do fry then please use Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I add Mrs. Dash seasonings to all my meats. This is an all natural source for seasonings. There are many different flavors by Mrs Dash.

I also eat all the fish I want. I suggest eating salmon,flounder,tilapia,pollack,catfish,trout,& many other fish. Try to eat the oily type fish. Salmon & trout are two of the top oily fish on the market. Here too I suggest baking instead of frying.

Now, I want to move onto another area of the diet. I will be discussing the importance 0f fruits & vegetables. Fruits was definitely a foreign word to me before prostate problems. I did eat limited amounts of veggies but not enough. I made that change as well in my life. Its very important to eat fruits & veggies to have a healthy diet. Disadvantages of Cyberknife for Prostate

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Q: What Are The Specific Steps Of The Cyberknife Treatment

  • The doctors will require a PSA level test that will provide a basis for interpreting the results of the treatment.
  • Next up, the doctor will insert fiducial markers into the prostate, through an ultrasound guided needle. This will help the CyberKnife® System with locating the exact position of the prostate along the treatment.
  • The patient will undergo a CT scan that will detect the exact size, location and shape of the prostate and, if necessary, a MRI scan to fully visualize the prostate and its environment. During the scanning and the treatment, the patient will lay on a custom moulded cradle that will enable him to maintain the same position during the entire time.
  • Upon consulting the CT scan and MRI results, the medical physicist and the patients doctors will devise a treatment plan with optimal radiation delivery.
  • The treatment will entail that the patient stays still on their custom body cradle. The CyberKnife systems Computer-controlled robot will trace the position of the prostate and move around the patients body to administer precise radiation.
  • After the session is complete, the patient can go about their day in a normal way and return for additional treatment as indicated by their doctor.
  • Upon completion of the treatment, the patient will be scheduled for follow-up appointments and have PSA level tests and digital rectal exams as indicated by the doctor.
  • The Cyberknife Robotic Radiosurgery System Is A Non

    Phoenix Cyberknife & Radiation Oncology Center: Treatment for prostate cancer patients

    With the CyberKnife System,you can complete treatment in one to five days, compared to the weeks it takes to complete a course of conventional radiation therapy. In addition, it provides a pain-free, non-surgical option for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or who may be looking for an alternative to surgery.

    This system is used for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and kidney. This treatment option offers new hope to patients worldwide.

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    Preparing For Your Cyberknife Treatment

    Generally, you will have consultation appointments with both the surgeon and the radiation oncologist. The CyberKnife nurse coordinator will arrange for insurance preauthorizations and inform you of your dates for pretreatment tests. These tests may include blood work and a CT scan, MRI or PET scan.

    Men receiving prostate cancer radiation therapy can benefit from this advanced protection for prostate cancer therapy with SpaceOAR hydrogels. We are the only center in Delaware to offer this new technology.

    The biodegradable spacers push the rectum away from the prostate and out of the high-dose radiation field to protect rectal cells from injury and thereby improve outcomes. The SpaceOAR gels are injected in a minimally invasive procedure, are safe to use and dissolve after treatment leaving nothing behind.

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