Is robotically delivered radiotherapy safe and effective?

This study assessed the safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with localized prostate cancer treated with CyberKnife (CK).

SBRT is a minimally invasive radiation therapy technique that delivers beams of high dose radiation to the cancer with extreme accuracy. Therefore, there is minimal damage to the healthy tissues around the cancer, thus minimal side effects. SBRT is a non-invasive alternative to surgery. CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is a robotically controlled radiation delivery machine that helps deliver radiation to a very specific area of the body without harming the healthy surrounding tissues. CK-SBRT is basically a large robotic arm that delivers radiation beams to the tumor with the precision of a scalpel in surgery, without the invasive procedure. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes and side effects of CK-SBRT in patients with localized prostate cancer.

For this study, 100 patients with localized prostate cancer have been treated with CK-SBRT. Patients were followed up for 36 months and the main parameters evaluated were side effects and biochemical-free survival or BFS (the percentage of patients who survived for a certain period of time after treatment without the cancer returning). BFS was measured through the value of the prostate specific antigen or PSA (a protein secreted by the prostate gland whose value rises in prostate cancer and is undetectable after successful treatment). 

Results show that the most frequent side effects were urinary and stool frequency/urgency and pain. These complaints were the most frequent in the first 2 weeks after the procedure, but only 8% of patients reported these side effects 6 months after the procedure. The BFS 3 years after CK-SBRT was 94.4%. Only 4 patients experienced a recurrence (return of the cancer) during the study period. All patients with recurrent disease had intermediate or high-risk prostate cancer and received successful salvage therapy (a type of treatment given after failure of an initial cancer treatment).

In summary, CK-SBRT is a minimally invasive procedure that has proven to be well tolerated and with promising outcomes in patients with localized prostate cancer.

This study included a small number of participants who were followed up for a short period of time. Larger studies are needed to confirm these results. 

Ask your doctor whether SBRT is a good treatment option in your situation.