CyberKnife Radiosurgery

CyberKnife is a compact linear accelerator mounted on a robotic arm. It delivers stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT): very high, precisely aimed radiation doses in 1 to 5 sessions, with continuous X-ray image guidance instead of a rigid head frame.

It can control small, well-defined tumours with little damage to surrounding tissue. It is a local treatment only: it does not treat cancer that has spread widely, and it does not suit large or poorly defined tumours.

What CyberKnife Radiosurgery involves

Planning starts with a CT scan in the treatment position, usually fused with MRI or PET. For brain targets a thermoplastic mask is moulded to your face. For prostate, liver and some lung tumours, 3 to 5 tiny gold markers are placed in or near the tumour with a needle about a week earlier so the system can track it. Physicists and the radiation oncologist design a plan using 100 to 200 narrow beams from different angles. During treatment you lie still on the couch while the robot moves around you; X-ray images are taken every 15 to 60 seconds and the arm corrects for small movements. For tumours that move with breathing, a vest with light markers lets the beam follow the tumour in real time.

Who is a good candidate for CyberKnife Radiosurgery?

Suitability is decided by a tumour board after review of your scans and pathology.

• Up to a limited number of brain metastases, typically each under 3 cm
• Benign skull base tumours such as acoustic neuroma and meningioma
• Early-stage lung cancer in people who cannot have or do not want surgery
• Localised low and intermediate risk prostate cancer, in 5 sessions
• Spinal metastases and selected liver, pancreas and kidney tumours
• A small number of metastases (oligometastatic disease), and selected re-treatment of a previously irradiated area

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Large tumours, generally over 5 to 6 cm
• Widespread metastatic disease, where drug treatment is the priority
• Tumours wrapped around bowel or other sensitive hollow organs
• People who cannot lie flat and still for 30 to 60 minutes
• Pregnancy

الخيارات التقنية

• Skull tracking: Frameless treatment of brain targets using the bony anatomy.
• Spine tracking: Follows the vertebrae without implanted markers.
• Fiducial tracking: Gold seeds guide the beam for prostate, liver and pancreas.
• Synchrony respiratory tracking: The beam moves with breathing for lung and upper abdominal tumours.
• Alternatives: Gamma Knife for the brain only, and modern linear accelerator SBRT, which gives comparable results in most body sites.

ماذا يحدث خلال علاجك

Each session lasts 30 to 60 minutes. You feel nothing from the radiation. There are no incisions and no anaesthetic, and you go home straight afterwards. Most people carry on with light daily activities between sessions.

الإعداد لرحلتك

Allow about 2 to 3 weeks: consultation and imaging, marker placement if needed followed by a wait of 5 to 7 days, planning over several days, then 1 to 5 treatments on consecutive or alternate days. Send your scans and pathology in advance so that suitability is confirmed before you book flights.

• Tell the doctor about medication, allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and any history of cold sores, keloid scars or autoimmune disease
• Avoid alcohol, aspirin and anti-inflammatory painkillers for a few days beforehand if your own doctor agrees, to reduce bruising
• Arrive without make-up on the treatment area and avoid sunbeds and strong sun for two weeks before

التعافي والنتائج

Tiredness for a week or two is common. Brain treatment can cause a short-lived headache or swelling, managed with steroids. Prostate treatment often brings urinary frequency and looser bowels for 2 to 6 weeks. Lung treatment may cause a cough or chest wall ache some weeks later. Tumours shrink slowly, so the first follow-up scan is usually at 2 to 3 months, with further scans for years.

• Back to everyday activity: Little; tiredness for 1 to 2 weeks
• When results show: First response scan at 2 to 3 months
• How long they last: Local control around 85 to 95 in 100 for well-selected small tumours

سياسة السلامة والمخاطر والتنقيح

Side effects depend on the site treated and the dose to nearby organs.

• Radiation necrosis or swelling in the brain, sometimes months later
• Hearing loss or facial numbness after treatment near the hearing and facial nerves
• Urinary irritation, rectal bleeding and erectile problems after prostate treatment
• Inflammation of the lung, rib fracture or chest wall pain after lung SBRT
• Bleeding or a collapsed lung from marker placement
• Tumour regrowth in the treated area, or new disease elsewhere

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of CyberKnife Radiosurgery in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for CyberKnife Radiosurgery, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• Number of fractions and complexity of planning
• Marker placement and the imaging needed for planning (MRI, PET-CT)
• Whether an equivalent linear accelerator SBRT is an option
• Follow-up imaging and any additional drug treatment

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

الأسئلة المتكررة