Cyberknife

The radiotherapy department at Barts has further enhanced its reputation as one of Europe’s most advanced cancer centres with the arrival of the CyberKnife System. The CyberKnife machine consists of a robotic arm with a compact 6MV linear accelerator attached. It can then be moved all around the body of a patient delivering high dose radiation where required, avoiding nearby tissue and sometimes reducing the need for conventional surgery.

Stereotactic technology minimizes damage to surrounding healthy tissue and critical structures allowing a high radiation dose to be delivered to the cancer in far fewer treatments than with conventional radiotherapy. Hence the term radiosurgery often applied to CyberKnife treatment.

Capable of treating tumours anywhere in the body, the CyberKnife system enables clinicians to track, detect and correct automatically for any tumour or patient movement throughout the treatment, allowing a patient to breathe normally. The machine does this by the use of imaging of the patient and the tumour throughout treatment. These images are monitored by radiographers and the machine can adjust its position relative to motion.

The imaging used during treatment will monitor and match to various sites in the body such as bones, but in cases of soft tissue tumours in the abdomen a patient will often require a day case visit to the hospital before treatment begins for the insertion of some metal markers which will then highlight the tumour to the CyberKnife system during treatment.

Treatment times are generally longer than with conventional radiotherapy but with fewer visits to the department and patient comfort being accommodated in the treatment plan a patient’s care is not compromised.

Side effects are often far fewer than those with conventional radiotherapy but the department has a dedicated team of professionals caring for a patient including doctors, radiographers, nurses and dieticians.

Barts Cancer Centre is now able to offer an unrivalled range of highly accurate radiotherapy treatment techniques. In the 1990s we were the first centre in London to offer stereotactic brain radiotherapy and our wealth of experience plus technical expertise singled us out as the ideal NHS partner for the GammaKnife, installed on the Barts site. With this experience, the CyberKnife is an exciting addition to our radiotherapy service.

Radiotherapy Patient Helpline: 020 3465 5215

Radiotherapy Reception: 020 3465 5222

Email: CyberKnife@bartsandthlondon.nhs.uk