CyberKnife® Prostate Cancer Treatment

The CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2001 to treat tumors anywhere in the body, including the prostate. Despite its name, the CyberKnife System does not involve a surgical procedure. In fact, there is no cutting involved. Instead, the CyberKnife System at Saint Peter’s delivers high doses of radiation directly to the prostate in four to five sessions in a treatment called prostate stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), also referred to as prostate radiosurgery.

The challenge that doctors face in treating prostate tumors with radiation therapy is that the prostate moves unpredictably as air passes through the rectum and as the bladder empties and fills. The CyberKnife System utilizes real-time image guidance to accurately and continuously target the prostate, which often moves during treatment, automatically adjusting to this movement. During treatment, a patient lays still and breathes normally while the CyberKnife zeroes in on a moving target – the prostate – and irradiates it without harming surrounding areas. As a result, the procedure is more comfortable for patients and radiation is delivered more accurately.