What is CyberKnife?
The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the brain and body. Though its name may conjure images of scalpels and surgery, the CyberKnife treatment involves no cutting. In fact, the CyberKnife System is the world’s first robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors throughout the body non-invasively. 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. The treatment – which delivers beams of high dose radiation to tumors with extreme accuracy – offers proven hope to patients worldwide.
What Makes CyberKnife Different?
The CyberKnife System was designed for patient comfort during treatment. The system tracks the position of the target throughout treatment, eliminating the need to bolt the patient's skull to a rigid frame to immobilize the head. The CyberKnife System has been demonstrated repeatedly to achieve equivalent clinical outcomes compared to devices that rely on a rigid frame. Furthermore, eliminating the head frame affords the clinician better flexibility to tailor the treatment into multiple sessions, reducing the risk of adverse side effects.
Most cases are treated in one-to-five treatment sessions, typically performed on an outpatient basis over one-to-five days, requiring no overnight hospital stays. Most patients experience minimal or no side effects and recover quickly from the radiation therapy.
Types of Cancer Treated by CyberKnife
- Brain and Spinal Cancer
- Skull Base Cancer
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Head and Neck Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Metastatic Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
Key Advantages of CyberKnife
- Pain free
- No anesthesia required
- Outpatient procedure
- No recovery time
- Immediate return to daily activities
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Cancer Institute
9103 Franklin Square Drive
Baltimore, Maryland 21237