Friday, January 29, 2016

CyberKnife therapy of 24 multiple brain metastases from lung cancer

CyberKnife therapy of 24 multiple brain metastases from lung cancer

Brain metastases from systemic cancer are the most common type of intracranial neoplasm in adults, being almost 10 times more common than primary malignant brain tumors, which cause a significant burden on the management of patients with advanced cancer (). The lungs represent one of the most frequent sources of metastases to the brain, with a probability of (36–64%) (). Symptoms suffered by the patients include headaches, epilepsy, focal weakness, numbness or changes in mental status. The prognosis of patients with brain metastases is not optimistic and the median survival time is ∼1–2 months if left untreated. The 1-year survival rate has been recorded as 10.4% (,). The treatment of metastatic brain tumors is complex; not only due to being able to provide local control and improve neurological function, but also due to factors such as age, performance and systemic disease status and the size, volume, location and number of metastases at presentation

CyberKnife is a robotic radiosurgery system with a linear particle accelerator (linac), which is coupled with real-time imaging to track and compensate for the patient’s or target’s motion. As a relatively non-invasive treatment modality, CyberKnife demonstrates certain benefits, including a more accurate target localization and improved dose delivery for the management of metastatic brain tumors that allows higher biologically effective dose delivery without increased incidence of toxicity.

In the present case, the results for the treatment of multiple brain metastases after CyberKnife surgery with a 7–8 Gy marginal dose was promising. CyberKnife for metastatic brain tumors is an effective and safe method for reducing the marginal dose prescribed for multiple brain metastases and for minimizing the radiation-related neurotoxicities. In conclusion, CyberKnife, a focused, highly-targeted radiosurgery and fractionated radiotherapy is particularly useful for multiple brain metastases. CyberKnife provides the advantage of the management of local recurrence and a tolerable complication rate. Although the treatment of brain metastases has been performed with CyberKnife, the clinical significance and optimal dose fractionation scheme require further investigation.

Source : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3788854/

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CYBERKNIFE TREATMENT IN OVARIAN CARCINOMA


CYBERKNIFE TREATMENT IN OVARIAN CARCINOMA

A 60-year-old female with a history of Stage IV ovarian carcinoma presented with rising CA-125 levels (21.1 U/ml to 34.4 U/ml), signifying a probable ovarian carcinoma recurrence. Subsequent MRI showed a 2.8 x 2.5 cm nodule in the region of the left upper vaginal cuff which was confirmed by bimanual examination. Initial diagnosis of Stage IV ovarian carcinoma was made six years earlier when the patient presented with right-sided pleural effusion and CA-125 of 1482 U/ml. An exploratory laparotomy was done and an omental cake, peritoneal studding and a nodule adjacent to the rectosigmoid were resected. Pathology showed poorly differentiated serous papillary ovarian carcinoma.

Over the next four years the patient underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy as well as stem cell transplant and additional surgical resection in the effort to control her disease. The patient’s latest chemotherapy was prematurely discontinued when she experienced a severe anaphylactoid reaction. At that time the decision was made to follow her closely with imaging and CA-125 measurements.

CyberKnife® Treatment Rationale

 Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among women. More than 70% of women with epithelial ovarian cancer have Stage III or IV disease at the time of diagnosis
1 Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for all patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer after appropriate surgery. However, more than 70% of patients relapse, with a median time to progression of less than 2 years.
2 Secondary surgery for recurrent patients has not significantly improved survival. Radiation therapy has improved survival in a subset of patients with chemotherapy-refractory disease, particularly those patients with minimal residual or relapsed disease to the pelvis, and has provided good palliation in patients with local abdominopelvic symptoms.
3 This patient presented with a recurrent ovarian cancer in the left vaginal cuff. Due to the patient’s medical history, she was not a candidate for further chemotherapy or surgery. Nevertheless, the left vaginal cuff recurrence was and had always been the only site of recurrence in this patient, therefore aggressive definitive care was indicated.
The use of stereotactic body radiotherapy as an alternative to brachytherapy for gynecologic tumors has been reported to achieve excellent local control rates with minimal toxicities.

4 offered a minimally invasive method for delivering hypofractionated radiation to the left vaginal cuff of a patient who had failed two surgical resections and numerous cycles of chemotherapy.

Source : http://www.cyberknifetampabay.org/

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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

CyberKnife - Hemicranial Meningioma

Successful CyberKnife Irradiation of 1000 cc Hemicranial Meningioma: 6-year Follow-up

Meningiomas are common benign tumors with accepted treatment approaches and usually don't challenge healthcare specialists. We present a case of a huge unresectable hemicranial meningioma, which was successfully treated with hypofractionated irradiation.

A male patient, sixty-two years of age, suffered for over 12 years from headaches, facial deformity, right eye displacement, right eye movement restriction, right-sided ptosis, and facial hypoesthesia. MRI and CT studies revealed an extended hemicranial meningioma. Prior to irradiation, the patient underwent four operations. Eventually, the tumor was irradiated with the CyberKnife in August 2009. Tumor volume composed 1085 cc. The mean dose of 35.3 Gy was delivered in 7 fractions (31.5 Gy at 72% isodose line comprising 95% of tumor volume). The patient was followed during six years and experienced only mild (Grade 1-2 CTCAE) acute skin and mucosa reactions. During the follow-up period, we observed target volume shrinkage for 17% (for 26% after excluding hyperostosis) and regression of intracranial hypertension signs.

Due to the extreme volume and complex shape of the tumor, spreading along the surface of the hemisphere as well as an optic nerve involvement, the case presented would not be generally considered suitable for irradiation, especially for hypofractionation. 

We regard this clinical situation not as a treatment recommendation, but as a demonstration of the underestimated possibilities of hypofractionation regimen and CyberKnife system, both of which are limited with our habit of conventional treatments.

Source : Scoop it

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