Short-term outcomes of CyberKnife therapy for advanced high-risk tumors: A report of 160 cases

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate short-term outcomes of CyberKnife therapy in patients with advanced high-risk tumors. A total of 201 target areas from 341 advanced high-risk tumor lesions in 160 patients were treated with CyberKnife. A prescribed dose of 18-60 Gy to the gross tumor volume was delivered in 1-6 fractions to complete the entire treatment in 1 week. Radiographic studies and clinical examinations were performed at 1- to 3-month follow-up intervals, and the results were compared to outcomes of 160 similar advanced high-risk tumor patients who were treated by conformal radiotherapy (CRT). After CyberKnife therapy, the short-term improvement in the quality of life was significant according to radiographic study, radioimmunoassay and ZPS scores of these patients. The total rates of objective efficacy and alleviation of ascities were as high as 66.88 and 67.90%. The short-term outcomes in our series of patients with advanced high-risk tumors treated with CyberKnife appeared to be better compared to conventional CRT. CyberKnife may be an option for patients with incurable advanced high-risk tumors, although further studies of the long-term outcomes are required to confirm the validity.