St. John’s brings breakthrough cancer treatment to the Ozarks
Oct. 21, 2005

For the first time in southwest Missouri, cancer patients are able to receive CyberKnife radiosurgery – a high-dose, concentrated radiation delivered in a focused, accurate way that does not damage healthy tissue – for the treatment of tumors and other diseases throughout the body.

St. John’s recently introduced the CyberKnife to the Ozarks at the newly constructed St. John’s Radiosurgery Center, on the northwest side of St. John’s Cancer Center.

St. John’s physicians have successfully treated 30 patients since beginning the service in late summer.

CyberKnife radiosurgery is a precise, painless, non-invasive radiation treatment that can be an alternative to conventional surgery. The CyberKnife system delivers radiation beams with “T” or “tight to the tumor” accuracy. This means that CyberKnife radiosurgery is so precise, that radiation beams can target small, complex shaped tumors near critical structures of the body. The radiation beams penetrate the tumors while leaving healthy tissues unharmed.

“The introduction of the CyberKnife technology reflects St. John’s commitment to providing superior care to our patients,” says neurosurgeon Alan Scarrow, M.D., who spearheaded the effort to bring the CyberKnife to St. John’s.

The CyberKnife technology uses a patient-centered team approach. Team members include a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, physicist and other medical professionals as needed.

CyberKnife radiosurgery treatment was developed at Stanford University in the early 1990s and was approved for use by the FDA in 2001. It incorporates a linear accelerator to generate radiation using a robotic arm and an X-ray tracking system that follows patient and tumor movement during treatment.  This combination of technology allows a patient’s tumor to be treated with lethal doses of radiation - increasing the likelihood for cure - while leaving the surrounding tissue nearly radiation-free. 

There are currently 19 hospitals in the United States with CyberKnife technology and over 3,000 patients have been treated worldwide. 

CyberKnife treatment differs from other types of radiosurgery offered in southwest Missouri in three important ways:

 First, the CyberKnife is the most accurate radiosurgical device in the world, offering precision treatments with less than 1-millimeter error. 

Second, it is the only radiosurgical device that can be used to treat lesions throughout the body. 

Third, for treatment of tumors in the brain, it is the only device that can deliver effective radiation doses without a frame being screwed into the skull, which is done to stabilize the patient’s head during treatment. 

This combination of unique features makes the CyberKnife the fastest, easiest and most accurate radiosurgical device in the world.

For media information, contact St. John’s Media Relations at 417-820-2426 or cscott@sprg.mercy.net.

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