Studies Show CyberKnife Provides Excellent Prostate Cancer Survival Rates in Five or Fewer Sessions

Accuray Incorporated, developer and manufacturer of the CyberKnife^® System, announced that published data from two multicenter studies using differing protocols provide consistent results and reinforce the use of the CyberKnife system for the effective management of low-and intermediate-risk prostate cancer. The studies are the largest conducted to date evaluating stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with localized prostate cancer.

Highlights of the multicenter studies included prostate SBRT administered by the system resulted in the following disease-free survival rates:

97% – 100% for low-risk patients

– Superior to the 92% – 94% from conventional radiation therapy historic data

– Equivalent to low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy and high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy without the inconvenience and risk associated with invasive seed and catheter implants

88% – 97% for intermediate-risk patients

– Equal to or higher than the 85% – 90% reported with conventional radiation therapy without the inconvenience of daily visits over several weeks

Despite the high dose delivered to the prostate, side effects were uncommon (less than two percent grade 3 or higher toxicities) and were similar to other radiation therapy procedures without the need for invasive rectal balloons or spacers to spare the rectal wall.

At St. Louis CyberKnife, men diagnosed with prostate cancer are treated with SBRT with the CyberKnife^® System, a painless, non-invasive 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.