Accuray Incorporated, a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced highlights from the clinical and technical presentations from its 8th Annual CyberKnife Users' Meeting, which was held February 4 to 7, 2009, in Hollywood, Florida. The record number of presentations featured during the event is a testament to the growing interest in use of the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System for the non-invasive treatment of tumours anywhere in the body.
This year's CyberKnife Users' Meeting attracted more than 500 attendees, including surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, hospital administrators and other related clinical staff. More than 15 percent of those in attendance travelled from outside of the United States to participate. This year's scientific program grew noticeably from last year's with more than 85 oral presentations and 75 clinical and technical posters. The treatment of extracranial tumours was the focus of 47 of the oral presentations.
At this year's meeting, nine presentations reported on large-scale studies, each with more than 100 patients with brain, lung or prostate tumours. The 2009 Users' Meeting included 11 presentations related to prostate cancer treatment, with follow-up data approaching three years for many patients. In addition to updated outcomes with longer follow-up, researchers are extending CyberKnife applications for prostate cancer beyond early-stage disease. For example, clinicians discussed their use of CyberKnife radiosurgery to 'boost' the radiation dose after conventional radiation therapy for patients with advanced disease, as well as for the treatment of recurrent cancer in patients that failed conventional radiation therapy.
The adoption of CyberKnife radiosurgery for the treatment of lung cancer continues to grow, a trend that was supported by 11 clinical lung cancer presentations. Presenters reported on primary and metastatic lung cancer, the treatment of recurrence after radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and quality of life after lung cancer treatment. In one study, patients showed 94 percent local control of lung tumours at a median follow-up of 33 months.
CyberKnife advantages continue to be extended in brain cancer and other brain disorders. Multiple presentations highlighted the CyberKnife System's frameless capability to conveniently treat in multiple sessions -- a particularly beneficial capability when lesions are near sensitive critical structures such as those that control vision and hearing. In one study of 114 acoustic neuroma patients, the authors concluded that the CyberKnife System's abilities made radiosurgical treatment possible for more than 13 percent of patients who could not have been treated with single-session radiosurgery because of risk of hearing loss.
"The presentations and posters at this year's Users' Meeting were representative of the increased interest in CyberKnife radiosurgery, particularly for the treatment of lung and prostate cancer, given its unrivaled ability to accurately track and treat tumours that move," said Eric P Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Accuray. "Despite the challenging economic climate, we were pleased to see that hundreds of clinicians recognized the value of this event to step away from their practices to share their clinical experience and learn from their peers at this meeting."
The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is the world's only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumours anywhere in the body non-invasively.