10-year Data Shows CyberKnife Provides Excellent Long-term Control of Low-Risk Prostate Cancer

Accuray, the company that develops and manufactures the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System, the system that St. Louis CyberKnife uses to treat cancer, recently announced the results of the first study that evaluated the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in low-risk prostate cancer 10 years post treatment.

The study titled, “Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Low-Risk Prostate Cancer: A Ten-Year Analysis,” was published online in the September 9 issue of the medical journal Cureus and found that data from a prospective study of 230 men with low-risk prostate cancer showed 98.4 percent had local disease control 10 years after receiving SBRT administered with the CyberKnife System, and toxicity was mild.

“This is a groundbreaking study — the first to report on the efficacy and toxicity of SBRT in the treatment of low-risk prostate cancer following 10 years of treatment.  All patients participating in the study were treated with the CyberKnife System, which delivers extremely precise radiation treatments using unique, real-time image guidance and automatic motion correction.  The study outcomes were excellent both in terms of disease control and tolerability, and were superior to long-term conventional intensity-modulated radiation therapy, based on results from other studies,” said Alan Katz, M.D., Flushing Radiation Oncology.

Study participants completed their entire treatment in just five sessions, compared to conventional radiation therapy which typically takes 30 to 40 sessions.  Additional 10-year outcomes showed:

– The disease free survival (DFS) rate was 93.7 percent, indicating there were no signs or symptoms of the cancer during the evaluation period;

– The median prostate specific antigen (PSA) value was 0.1 ng/ml.  A low PSA value is associated with a reduced risk of cancer recurrence or metastases; and

– Patient-reported bowel and urinary function scores showed initial declines which recovered to baseline where they remained throughout the remainder of the study period.

At St. Louis CyberKnife, men diagnosed with prostate cancer are treated with the CyberKnife System, a painless, nonsurgical prostate cancer treatment technology in which high-dose radiation is delivered to the tumor from a linear accelerator mounted on a highly maneuverable robotic arm.  Hundreds of different angles enable the radiation to be contoured to the shape of the prostate, resulting in treatment aimed directly to the prostate gland, avoiding nearby critical anatomy.  This precision reduces treatment time to just five outpatient visits, compared to the average 45 visits conventional radiation therapy requires.

To learn more about how St. Louis CyberKnife treats prostate cancer, please click here.  To make an appointment, or ask a question, please click here.