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Side Effects

Potential side effects of CyberKnife® treatment for spine cancer

Treatment with the CyberKnife System is well-tolerated with a low risk of toxicity. Side effects associated with CyberKnife treatment are usually mild and temporary. As with any radiation treatment, side effects can also be severe in some patients and lead to permanent injury or even death. Discuss your specific case with your physician(s) to fully understand the potential risks associated with your treatment. Possible side effects could include, but are not limited to:

  • Fatigue
  • Temporary skin changes such as redness, tenderness, itchiness, or rash
  • Dysphagia (inability to eat) for patients with upper spine treatments
  • Esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) for patients with upper spine treatments
  • Transient myelitis (may require corticosteroid treatment)
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Spinal cord (bone) injury
  • Exposure to nearby tissue
  • Tingling

Ask your doctor for more details about potential side effects associated with your specific radiation therapy treatment.

Managing side effects with your medical team

Prior to beginning CyberKnife treatment, your medical team will discuss all possible side effects and may prescribe medication to control any side effects, should they occur.

Protecting healthy tissue — protecting quality of life.

Treatment with the CyberKnife System is well-tolerated with a low risk of toxicity. Despite the high dose rate associated with SRS, the CyberKnife has been proven to deliver radiation with sub-millimeter accuracy, which means minimal radiation is delivered to the healthy tissues that surround the spinal tumor or the spinal cord itself 1, 2, 3, 4.

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References:

1 Pantelis E. et al. On the total system error of a robotic radiosurgery system: phantom measurements, clinical evaluation and long-term analysis. Phys. Med. Biol. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/aad516.

2 Antypas C. and Pantelis E. Performance evaluation of a CyberKnife G4 image-guided robotic stereotactic radiosurgery system. Phys Med Biol.
53:4697-4718, 2008

3 Muacevic A. et. al. Technical description, phantom accuracy, and clinical feasibility for fiducial-free frameless real-time image-guided spinal radiosurgery. J Neurosurgery Spine. 2006; 5(4): 303-312.

4 Ho et. al. A study of the accuracy of cyberknife spinal radiosurgery using skeletal structure tracking. Neurosurgery. 2007; 60: 147-156.

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Important Safety Statement: Most side effects of radiotherapy, including radiotherapy delivered with Accuray systems, are mild and temporary, often involving fatigue, nausea, and skin irritation. Side effects can be severe, however, leading to pain, alterations in normal body functions (for example, urinary or salivary function), deterioration of quality of life, permanent injury and even death. Side effects can occur during or shortly after radiation treatment or in the months and years following radiation. The nature and severity of side effects depend on many factors, including the size and location of the treated tumor, the treatment technique (for example, the radiation dose), the patient’s general medical condition, to name a few. For more details about the side effects of your radiation therapy, and if treatment with an Accuray product is right for you, ask your doctor.