Every treatment for prostate cancer comes with risks. But overwhelmingly research shows that indeed, CyberKnife, a non-invasive form of radiation therapy called stereotactic body radiation therapy or SBRT, is absolutely safe and effective for prostate cancer.
In fact, a study from October of 2024 in the New England Journal of Medicine supports using CyberKnife as a standard treatment for prostate cancer patients with localized disease.
CyberKnife: Safe and Fast Treatment for Prostate Cancer
CyberKnife delivers high doses of pinpointed radiation to prostate tumors while tracking a patient’s movements in real-time. This way the radiation stays laser-focused on the tumor – minimizing harm to healthy surrounding tissue. And treatment with CyberKnife is completed in only five sessions compared to 40 with traditional radiation.
The study, funded by Accuray, the maker of CyberKnife, included 874 participants from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. About 92% had intermediate-risk prostate cancer and 8% had low-risk disease. None received hormone therapy in combination with the radiation.
Participants were either assigned to receive five sessions of CyberKnife over a two-week period, 20 sessions of hypofractionated radiation, which is a slightly larger dose than normal radiation, or 39 sessions of conventional radiation over eight weeks.
The median follow-up was six years.
During that time, 95% of the men from all the groups remained alive and cancer free – showing the efficiency and efficacy of CyberKnife compared to traditional radiation.
CyberKnife: ‘Chance of Keeping the Cancer at Bay for 5 Years is 96%’
“To be able to sit with a patient and say, ‘We can treat you with a low toxicity treatment in five days, and your chance of keeping the cancer at bay for five years is 96 percent,’ is a very positive conversation to have. We expect our trial to be practice changing and people with intermediate risk prostate cancer should be given the option of SBRT as an alternative to conventional radiation or prostate surgery,” Chief Investigator Professor Nicholas van As, Medical Director and Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and Professor in Precision Prostate Radiotherapy at The Institute of Cancer Research in London said.
Trial participants, who were randomly assigned to receive CyberKnife, did show a higher chance of developing some urinary problems – primarily urinary frequency — during the first two years after treatment compared to those who received traditional radiation. But over time those differences evened out. And medications can control that urgency, according to the National Cancer Institute. And there were no differences seen when it came to bowel problems or sexual function issues after treatment between the two groups.
Currently there is a National Cancer Institute study underway comparing SBRT with hypofractionated radiation therapy for intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Early results may be released this year.
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer among American men next to skin cancer. In 2025 there will be more than 300,000 newly diagnosed cases and more than 35,000 deaths.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Near Me: CyberKnife Miami
If you or someone you love is diagnosed with prostate cancer, contact the experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami for a consultation. We treat patients from across South Florida, the United States and even around the world. And we have been doing so for more than two decades.
If you would like to find out more about prostate cancer treatment with CyberKnife, call us at 305-279-2900 or go to our prostate cancer website now for more information.