CyberKnife® Radiosurgery for Pancreatic Lesions
Conclusion
Treatment of pancreatic cancer remains challenging and unfortunately, symptom control rather than cure remains the rule. A single CyberKnife® treatment or a short series of CyberKnife® treatments represents an efficient and effective treatment method that avoids the major recovery and possible complications of a large operation, greatly shortens the therapeutic regimen compared with standard radiotherapy approaches, and exposes far less normal gastrointestinal tissue to a high dose of radiation compared with conventional approaches. Due to its superior adjacent tissue sparing characteristics, CyberKnife® theoretically integrates well with other modalities such as chemotherapy and surgery.
Though the initial combined modality IMRT-CyberKnife® experience has been disappointing, further study of the CyberKnife® treatment method in combination with other treatments warrants further study. This extremely precise and powerful radiation dose sculpting and tracking tool remains relatively new and undoubtedly will integrate further into curative therapy for pancreatic cancer once greater experience is gained.
Case Study:
Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma - Georgetown University
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