Renal cell carcinoma

Patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to the brain have a very poor prognosis of three months if left untreated. SRS is an effective treatment modality in numerous patients. This case exemplifies the utility of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in prolonging survival and maintaining quality of life in a patient with RCC. This 64-year-old female patient initially presented to her primary care physician 22 months after a left nephrectomy for RCC with complaints of mild, intermittent headaches and difficulty with balance. An MRI revealed five cerebellar lesions suspicious for intracranial metastasis. The patient's first GKRS treatment targeted four lesions with 22 Gy at the 50% isodose line. She underwent a total of seven GKRS treatments over the next 60 months for recurrent metastases to the brain. 72 months and 12 months have now passed since her brain metastases were first discovered and since her last GKRS treatment, respectively, and this woman is alive with considerable quality of life and no evidence of metastatic reoccurrence. This case shows that repeated GKRS treatments, with minimal surgical intervention, can effectively treat multiple intracranial lesions in select patients, prolonging survival and avoiding iatrogenic neurocognitive decline while maintaining a high quality of life.

To know more about cyberknife kindly blog your comments or you can write to me at lakshmipriya_b@apollohospitals.com or call 9940675877

choroidal haemangioma (eye lesion)

Master ShreeVaishnav – Kerala, India 
Radiation therapy is one of the most important tools to combat cancer. However, conventional radiation therapy is long course (usually 6 to 7 weeks) treatment and may have severe acute side effects including skin and mucosal reactions, diarrhea, feeding difficulties and others. Higher dose radiation is also not possible to deliver due to limitations related to toxicities. CyberKnife is a precise radiation therapy technique by which high dose radiation therapy can be delivered only to the tumor and minimal dose to the normal structures. CyberKnife treatment is a short course treatment (usually only one to 5 days) and have no or minimal side effects. Many tumors which are ‘resistant’ to conventional radiation are ‘sensitive’ to high dose radiation delivered by CyberKnife. “CyberKnife has unique system that it can track moving tumors and treat them with immaculate accuracy”. Tumors in moving organs such as lung and liver can be treated most effectively CyberKnife. Dr Debnarayan Dutta, Consultant in Radiation Oncology at Apollo Speciality Hospital, Chennai commented “there are few tumors which were thought to be not treatable are now being treated successfully with CyberKnife”.

Master ShreeVaishnav, a 6 year old boy from Kerala suffering with choroidal haemangioma (eye lesion) had vision loss in both the eyes, he was referred from Sankar Netralaya for treatment. He was treated with CyberKnife and at 2 months follow up evaluation his vision had dramatically improved. “We are thankful to Dr Dutta for giving vision back to my son” told ShreeVaishnav’s father who was elated about CyberKnife. “CyberKnife has opened a modern and effective option for these diseases and we are happy with the result” said Dr Prativa Mishra, eye specialist involved in ShreeVaishnav’s treatment.

CyberKnife is a revolution in cancer treatment; it provides effective, short course, minimal toxic and high dose treatment in brain, lung, liver, pancreas, prostate, head and neck and many other tumors.

To know more about cyberknife kindly blog your comments or you can write to me atlakshmipriya_b@apollohospitals.com or call 9940675877

CYBERKNIFE TREATMENT - ACOUSTIC SCHWANNOMA

      A 47 year old lady from Kolkata was evaluated for decreased hearing in the left ear. MRI revealed an acoustic schwannoma. BERA (audiometry) revealed profound to severe hearing loss on the left side. She came for radiosurgery. She was irradiated with cyberknife radiosurgery technique in January 2013. Six months later she came for follow up. Her hearing had improved and it was confirmed with an Audiometry then. MRI also showed a decrease in the size of the lesion.

Acoustic schwannoma is a benign neoplasm in the eight cranial nerve.  Surgery for these lesions are complicated by the fact that preservation of hearing is a difficulty. Cyberknife radiosurgery delivers adequate dose to control the tumor growth with preservation of hearing.


We have successfully completed more than 1000 cases 

The patient was under treatment with Dr.Rathna Devi, senior consultant Radiation Oncologist. 

For More information feel free to blog your comments or write to lakshmipriya_b@apollohospitals.com or I can be reached @9940675877