Robotic radiosurgery offers low prostate Ca recurrence at 5 years

A study of low-risk prostate cancer patients treated with stereotactic radiotherapy found that 93% of patients had no recurrence of their cancer at a median follow-up of 5 years.

The study combined data from 41 patients treated at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and Naples Community Hospital in Naples, FL. Researchers say it is the longest published study to date on the use of the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System (Accuray, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) as a treatment for clinically localized, low-risk prostate cancer.

The researchers also found generally low levels of urinary and rectal toxicity following the 5-day course of treatment, concluding that CyberKnife radiosurgery (also known as stereotactic body radiotherapy) can achieve high rates of disease control while sparing critical structures, thereby minimizing undesirable side effects typically associated with prostate cancer treatments and preserving patients’ quality of life.

"As a noninvasive treatment option completed in just five visits, stereotactic radiotherapy with the CyberKnife System offers patients the benefits of more rapid recovery, reduced travel costs, and less time off work, allowing them to return to their normal, daily routines almost immediately as compared with the standard 9-week course of radiotherapy," said study co-author Christopher King, MD, formerly of Stanford who is now at UCLA. "In addition, because CyberKnife radiosurgery costs less than conventional radiation and avoids the anesthesia and hospital stay associated with surgery, our national health care system benefits from reduced health care costs."

Results from the study were published in Radiation Oncology (2011; 6:3).