St. John’s physicians awarded innovative CyberKnife research

St. John’s radiation oncologist Nathan Kim, MD, PhD, has been awarded a research grant from the CyberKnife Society.

Dr. Kim, St. John’s cardiac/thoracic surgeon, Frank Schmidt, M.D. and St. John’s nuclear medicine physician Robert Sonnemaker, M.D., will study the maximum Standard Uptake Value (mSUV) in PET scans of CyberKnife patients treated for lung cancer. The aim of the research is to provide a better method for measuring tumor metabolic activity and the likelihood of disease recurrence. 

“Being selected as an institution that is capable of this type of research means a lot,” says Dr. Kim. “Our team continues to be recognized nationally for our endeavors for clinical and research excellence.”         

After radiosurgery, appropriate methods of following tumor response status are extremely important. However, in the past, the results from the PET scan have been challenging to interpret. Researchers hope to determine an effective way to measure patient outcomes after radiosurgery by using quantitative data collected by a noninvasive PET scan to prevent the need for multiple biopsies.  
“Being able to accurately determine a tumors response to therapy is going to better guide our clinical decision making,” says Dr. Kim. “This will be particularly helpful for patients who are prone to disease recurrence.”

In addition, the use of mSUV may prove to be applicable to other tumor types. Researchers hope to expand this treatment from lung cancer patients to other types of cancers in the future.

St. John’s introduced the Cyberknife to the Ozarks in August 2005. This was the first time patients in southwest Missouri were able to receive Cyberknife radiosurgery–a high-dose, concentrated radiation delivered in a focused, accurate way that minimizes risk of damage healthy tissue – for the treatment of tumors and other diseases throughout the body.