SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Accuray Incorporated, the global leader in the field of robotic radiosurgery, announced today that clinical study results demonstrate that the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System is an effective treatment option for tumors in the prostate. The study shows that the CyberKnife System is a minimally invasive procedure that can be performed on an outpatient basis with minimal or no side effects. The results of this study will be presented this week by the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences at the American Urological Association (AUA) 2006 Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
“With this study, we explored the advantages of robotic radiosurgery as a minimally invasive treatment option for patients with prostate cancer,” said Moon-Ki Jo, M.D., Ph.D., chief of urology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital. “The results point not only to the effectiveness of the CyberKnife System for the treatment of tumors in the prostate, but also to improved quality of life benefits for patients by minimizing or eliminating treatment side effects and dramatically shortening overall treatment times.”
In 2006, it is estimated that prostate cancer will be the third most common cause of cancer death in the U.S. and the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men.(i) Common treatment options for prostate cancer include surgery or hypofractionated radiation therapy such as high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy. Both traditional surgery and HDR are invasive procedures which require overnight hospital stays. However, by comparison the CyberKnife System is a minimally invasive out-patient procedure that physicians can offer their patients as an alternative to traditional treatment methods.
“It’s important that clinicians continue to look for advanced treatment options, such as that of the CyberKnife System, for their prostate cancer patients,” said Robert M. Meier, M.D., radiation oncologist and medical director, Swedish Cancer Institute at Northwest Hospital in Seattle, Washington. “The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System appears to offer the same benefits as HDR, but is an option that allows patients to avoid overnight hospital stays and the uncomfortable invasiveness typically associated with HDR and other surgical procedures. I am excited by the opportunity to offer my patients an additional treatment option that is designed to treat prostate tumors.”
“The CyberKnife System offers physicians the ideal hypofractionation tool for the treatment of prostate cancer,” said Eric Lindquist, chief marketing officer of Accuray. “It is designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy in staged sessions. With the CyberKnife System’s ability to track, detect and correct for tumor and patient movement throughout the treatment, patients finally have access to one of the most advanced and accurate cancer treatment options available today.”
About the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System
The CyberKnife System is the world’s first and only radiosurgery system that utilizes intelligent robotics to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy. The CyberKnife System treats patients in single or staged (typically 2-5) sessions by delivering multiple beams of precisely directed radiation that converge upon the tumor while minimizing injury to surrounding healthy tissue. Image guidance and computer controlled robotics combine to continuously track, detect and correct for tumor and patient movement throughout the treatment. Because of its precision and accuracy, no head or body frame is required. The CyberKnife has proven to attract a new patient population to a physician’s practice and complements existing radiation therapy, IMRT or IGRT programs.
About Accuray
Accuray Inc., a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the global leader in the field of robotic radiosurgery. Its CyberKnife System is the world’s first and only intelligent robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy. More than 100 CyberKnife Systems have been acquired by leading medical centers throughout the world. To date, more than 20,000 patients worldwide have been treated with the CyberKnife System. For more information, please visit www.accuray.com.
For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Greer at agreer@fischerhealth.com 310-577-7870, ext. 125.
(C)2006 Accuray Incorporated. All rights reserved. Accuray, the Accuray logo, CyberKnife, Synchrony, Xsight and CyRIS are among trademarks or registered trademarks of Accuray Incorporated.
(i) American Cancer Society, Estimated New Cancer Cases and Deaths by Sex
for All Sites US, 2006.
Accuray Incorporated
CONTACT: Ashley Greer, +1-310-577-7870, Ext. 125,agreer@fischerhealth.com, for Accuray Incorporated
Web site: http://www.accuray.com/
