About Our Technology
What is the CyberKnife® System?
The Phoenix CyberKnife and Radiation Oncology Center is setting a new standard in cancer care with use of the advanced CyberKnife System. Led by a team of internationally recognized and board-certified radiation oncologists, we are able to effectively treat cancer with a combination of advanced technology and clinical experience.
The CyberKnife System offers a non-invasive option for cancer treatment, and is often used in conjunction with other treatments to provide our patients with the best options available for their cancer care.
So why do they call it CyberKnife? The CyberKnife System does not use a knife, but rather uses highly-targeted radiation delivery to treat cancerous tumors and malignant cells without actually having to cut anything. Utilizing advanced tumor-tracking technology and real-time imaging, the CyberKnife System is able to track cancerous cells during treatment, allowing for the most accurate delivery of radiation while avoiding surrounding tissues and organs.
The CyberKnife System is classified as a stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatment, also known as stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) or stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR). Unlike traditional stereotactic radiosurgery, the CyberKnife System is not bound to limited angles of delivery, but rather it is able to deliver treatment from virtually any angle because of its advanced robotic arm.
And because CyberKnife treatments are non-invasive, they can be performed in our comfortable outpatient treatment center. Most patients complete their treatment in one to five sessions which take place over the course of one week. Because of this, they also experience minimal side effects and can generally return to normal activities almost immediately.
What makes the CyberKnife System so unique?
Precision treatment
The precision offered by the CyberKnife System sets it apart from all other radiation therapy solutions. With a robotic architecture, the CyberKnife System can bend and move around the patient, approaching the tumor from hundreds of unique angles. This flexibility enables radiation beams to be sculpted to target only the tumor, avoiding nearby organs and healthy tissue.
The CyberKnife System also addresses the challenges of patients and tumors moving, even slightly, during the treatment process. Using advanced technologies to track tumors throughout the treatment process, and adjusting to ensure accurate delivery of radiation, the CyberKnife System can compensate for patient and tumor movement, and eliminates the need to use invasive head or body frames and other techniques to prevent movement that are uncomfortable for patients. With its Synchrony® Respiratory Tracking System, the CyberKnife System is the only clinically proven system to use continual image guidance to synchronize the movement of the radiation beam with the movement of the tumor while the patient lays comfortably in a body cradle on the treatment table and breathes normally.
This precision makes it possible for the CyberKnife to treat even the most complex cases.
Patient comfort
CyberKnife treatments are noninvasive and pain free, requiring no anesthesia or overnight hospital stays. With the precision delivery of high doses of radiation, the CyberKnife System eliminates the need for invasive head or body frames, and in many cases, the insertion of fiducials. Additionally, by sparring surrounding healthy tissue and organs, the CyberKnife System minimizes side effects, enabling patients to resume normal activities after treatment.
The CyberKnife System is an alternative for patients, including those diagnosed with previously inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or for those who are looking for an alternative to surgery, convention radiation therapy or chemotherapy. CyberKnife treatments can be done in conjunction with other types of cancer treatment as well, and be used for patients who have been treated with radiation in the past.
What types of cancer does the CyberKnife System treat?
The CyberKnife System is extremely flexible and can address a variety of tumors and diseases throughout the body, including:
Lung, Liver, Pancreas, and Kidney
Managing respiratory motion presents one of the most significant challenges in the delivery of radiation treatment, particularly for cancers of the lung, liver, pancreas and kidney. Tumors in the chest and abdomen can move as much as two inches with every breath. The CyberKnife System, using its Synchrony Respiratory Tracking System, intelligently tracks respiratory motion in real-time and automatically adapts to changes in the patient’s breathing pattern. Since the radiation beam adjusts with the motion of the tumor throughout the respiratory cycle, there is no need for special breath-holding techniques or compression devices. The patient can remain comfortable and breathe normally.
Lung Tumor Movement
Prostate
Safely and accurately delivering radiation to the prostate presents a challenge for any external beam radiation delivery system because the prostate moves involuntarily as a result of bowel, stomach and bladder pressure. The CyberKnife System combines continual image guidance to automatically adapt delivery of radiation accurately to the tumor in real time. By supporting a full spectrum of fractionation schemes, the flexibility of the CyberKnife System determines the optimal course of prostate cancer treatment for each patient.
Brain, Head & Neck, and Spine
The CyberKnife System is a frameless radiation delivery system. With other technologies, immobilization devices, such as a frame bolted to the patient’s skull, are used to prevent movement. The CyberKnife System is designed to automatically adjust for even the slightest movements of the patient or tumor, and therefore does not require a frame.
Recurrent Tumors
The accuracy of the CyberKnife System makes it a viable treatment option for patients whose tumors have returned after having radiation therapy in the past.
What is the CyberKnife Treatment Process?
There are general steps in the CyberKnife treatment process:
1. Scanning – Prior to treatment, a patient will undergo imaging procedures to determine the size, shape and location of the tumor. The process begins with a standard high-resolution CT scan, or for certain tumors other imaging techniques, such as MRI, angiography or PET may also be used.
2. Planning – The CyberKnife System’s treatment planning workstation identifies the exact size, shape and location of the tumor. Sophisticated software generates a treatment plan designed to provide the desired radiation dose to the tumor location while minimizing the impact on the surrounding healthy tissue.
3. Treatment – As a patient lies comfortably on a treatment table, he or she is automatically positioned for treatment delivery. Anesthesia in not required, as the procedure is painless and non-invasive. The treatment generally lasts between 15 and 45 minutes and is completed in one to five visits.
4. Follow-up – During the months following treatment, assessment the tumor’s response to treatment is generally performed with a combination of CT, MRI and/or PET scanning, done in coordination of evaluation with the referring physicians.
Precision Technology. Life changing Results
The CyberKnife VSI is a non-invasive, outpatient radiation therapy that treats tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter precision. Using image guidance and robotic technology, it delivers high-dose radiation from multiple angles while tracking and adjusting for tumor or patient movement. Ideal for inoperable or complex cases, it offers an alternative to surgery, standard radiation, or chemotherapy, with minimal recovery time and no need for anesthesia or restraints.
TomoTherapy HDA system is a state-of-the-art radiation delivery platform that integrates precise 3D imaging with highly targeted radiation beams to treat cancers throughout the body. Its exceptional accuracy minimizes exposure to surrounding healthy tissue, helping reduce side effects and improve patient outcomes.
TrueBeam STX is a cutting-edge radiotherapy system that delivers high-precision, noninvasive cancer treatments. Using advanced imaging and motion-tracking technology, it targets tumors with pinpoint accuracy—even as they move during normal breathing. TrueBeam is effective for treating cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, head and neck, and more, offering a powerful alternative to surgery or chemotherapy with minimal discomfort.
HDR Brachytherapy is a precise cancer treatment that places radioactive sources directly within or near the tumor site. This technique allows clinicians to deliver high-dose radiation while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. It has demonstrated strong success in treating cancers of the head and neck, skin, breast, bronchus, esophagus, cervix, endometrium, prostate, and soft tissue sarcomas.
HDR Brachytherapy
At the Phoenix CyberKnife and Radiation Oncology Center, we offer a wide range of treatments to provide our patients with the best possible cancer care. One of the treatments offered is HDR brachytherapy, which treats cancer by placing radioactive sources directly into or next to the area requiring treatment. This procedure enables our clinicians to deliver a high dose of radiation with minimal impact on surrounding healthy tissues.
HDR brachytherapy has proven to be a highly successful treatment for cancers of the head and neck, skin, breast, bronchus, esophagus, cervix, endometrium, prostate, as well as soft tissue sarcomas.
During HDR brachytherapy, tiny radioactive pellets are delivered directly to tumor sites via thin plastic tubes called catheters. HDR brachytherapy is a much shorter procedure (days vs. weeks) and is delivered over multiple treatments sessions each lasting just a few minutes. And, patients are not radioactive following the procedure.
HDR brachytherapy offers patients several benefits:
- Highly targeted treatment conforms to the shape of the tumor, enabling high doses of radiation to be delivered directly to the tumor, while minimizing impact of radiation on healthy surrounding organs and tissue.
- The ability to deliver a higher dose delivery to the tumor can lead to improved treatment effectiveness.
- Shorter treatment times: For breast cancer, there is a potential to reduce from more than five weeks to five days; and for prostate cancer, reduce treatment from more than 8 weeks to just one day, while avoiding prostatectomy.
- Alternative treatment option for challenging lung and esophagus cancers that might otherwise not be treatable with other types of treatments.
- Simplified palliative treatment option for certain cases.
- Curative treatment option for skin cancers, particularly on the face, which avoids cosmetic and functional defects resulting from surgery.
