Long Article/UPMC/Spinal tumors/Cyberknife

[Guest guest]

I found the article Barbara mentioned; this is I think the same treatment

that had, altho I think they are much more experienced at Stanford;

I heard that when they first got this equipment at UPMC, it was left in a

box because no one knew what to do with it! LOL I am sure things have

changed a lot since then, and I think the fact that UPMC is adding at least

a different arm of RS, besides their well established gamma knife program,

is indicative of something. Anyhow, for those of you who want to read:

Monday November 5, 9:15 am Eastern Time

Press Release

SOURCE: Accuray Incorporated

University of Pittsburgh Expands

Radiosurgery Program to Treat

Spinal Tumors Using the

CyberKnife®

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ --

Accuray Incorporated, the world leader in

advanced Image-Guided Radiosurgery,

announced today that physicians at the UPMC

Health System, affiliated with the University of

Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, have treated their

first 10 spine patients using the non-invasive

CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery System.

The CyberKnife integrates robotics and

advanced image-guidance to accurately

ablate tumors and other lesions using high

doses of precisely targeted radiation. There are

currently 11 CyberKnife sites in operation in the

U.S. and Japan, which have treated over 60

spine lesions to date.

UPMC Health System is also the first CyberKnife

site to purchase the Dynamic Tracking

Software (DTS) upgrade. This latest generation

software package was recently cleared by

the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to

provide radiosurgery of lesions anywhere in the

body when radiation treatment is indicated.

The new fiducial tracking feature in DTS

enables extracranial lesions to be targeted through the use of small

fiducials implanted adjacent to the tumor.

Gerszten, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery

at UPMC Health System, states, ``Lesions of the spine have historically been

very difficult to treat with conventional radiosurgery devices due to the

lack of a practical means of target immobilization. Because the CyberKnife

does not rely on an invasive frame to target lesions, it is an ideal

solution to

the challenges faced in performing radiosurgery outside of the head. At

UPMC Health System, we have now treated our first 10 cervical spine

patients with the CyberKnife and look forward to expanding treatment to

patients with lesions in the thoracic and lumbar spine using the new DTS

software.'' The first 10 patients treated at UPMC Health System were treated

using the CyberKnife without DTS and utilized bony landmarks of the skull to

localize lesions in the cervical spine. Dr. Gerszten continues, ``We are in

the

process of developing a spine radiosurgery program and anticipate

treating 2 to 3 spine patients per week routinely within a year.''

Final validation testing of the DTS software was completed earlier this year

at the Newport Diagnostic Center in Newport Beach, California. Stafford

Chenery, Ph.D., Director of Radiological Physics at Newport Diagnostic

Center, says, ``Radiosurgery is all about accuracy and the ability to

accurately target a lesion such that high doses of radiation can be

delivered with confidence that only the tumor will receive a uniform dose

while critical structures such as the spinal cord can be avoided. Accuracy

measurements performed at our facility demonstrated less than 1 millimeter

overall error* with the DTS software. This surpasses the accuracy generally

achievable with conventional frame-based radiosurgery systems for

treating lesions in the head. The fact that we can achieve this level of

accuracy with a frameless system for lesions outside of the head highlights

the confidence we have in treating tumors located near critical structures

such as the spinal cord.''

According to Shalom Kalnicki, M.D., Vice Chairman of Clinical Services,

Department of Radiation Oncology at UPMC Health System, ``The frameless

CyberKnife system is a very important option for delivering

hypofractionated treatment of radiation to complex-shaped volumes near

critical structures such as the spinal cord. DTS will expand its use to

extracranial sites such as the lung and liver, especially when coupled with

breath-holding techniques. The inverse planning option and new DTS

software has great potential impact on stereotactic body irradiation.''

About the CyberKnife:

The unique CyberKnife technology was developed in cooperation with

Stanford University and was cleared by the FDA in August 2001 to provide

radiosurgery for lesions anywhere in the body when radiation treatment is

indicated.

CyberKnife with Dynamic Tracking Software is the latest generation system

that offers proprietary 6-D skull and fiducial tracking features. Targets

outside of the head are tracked in six dimensions through the use of small

fiducials that are percutaneously implanted near the tumor and serve as

reference points for tumor location. During radiosurgical treatment, a

proprietary image-guidance system tracks the position of the fiducials, and

thus the tumor. Information about tumor position is communicated to the

robotic arm, which can re-position the radiation-generating linear

accelerator to compensate for changes in patient position. The CyberKnife

is the only radiosurgical system in the world that precisely corrects for

patient movement during actual treatment. The level of accuracy

achievable by the system allows higher doses of radiation to be used,

which provides the potential for greater tumor-killing efficacy and greater

likelihood of cure.

The CyberKnife was previously cleared by the FDA in 1999 for use in the

head and neck above the cervico-thoracic junction and has been

successfully used to treat over 2,000 patients worldwide suffering from

malignant and benign tumors, vascular abnormalities, and other lesions. To

date, lesions in the head, spine, pancreas, and lung have been treated

with the CyberKnife.

About Accuray:

Accuray Incorporated is a privately held corporation located in Sunnyvale,

California, the heart of the Silicon Valley. CyberKnife is a registered

trademark of Accuray Incorporated. The company designs, manufactures,

and distributes the CyberKnife Radiosurgery System in the USA and certain

markets internationally. Accuray has as its mission to enable full-body

radiosurgery using image-guided robotics and to make this technology

available to physicians throughout the world.

About UPMC Health System:

UPMC Health System, which is affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh

Schools of the Health Sciences, is the leading integrated health care

delivery system in western Pennsylvania. It meets comprehensive health

care needs through UPMC hospitals -- the region's largest and finest network

of tertiary, specialty, and community hospitals -- and by offering a variety

of

health-related services and products.

With more than 31,000 employees, UPMC Health System is the largest

nongovernmental employer in the region. In addition, it is one of the

largest

not-for-profit integrated health care systems in the United States.

* Manufacturer's accuracy specification is 1.8 millimeters.

For more information on Accuray or the CyberKnife please contact:

Helen Cheng, Ph.D., Marketing Communications Manager

Accuray Incorporated, 570 Del Rey Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085

Tel: , ext. 369; Mobile: +1-; Fax:

+1-; Email: info@...; or visit our website at

www.accuray.com.

SOURCE: Accuray Incorporated

Marie Drew