Available Treatments
XKnife™ Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Radiosurgery is a radiation treatment used to treat small brain tumors and blood vessel malformations, and occasionally to treat certain painful conditions and movement disorders. Radiosurgery is not surgery at all. Rather it is a special form of radiation therapy. It is a closed, bloodless procedure using highly focused radiation to treat precisely targeted tissue.
This treatment may be used as part of the overall management strategy for a brain tumor without prior surgery or after surgical biopsy or partial removal.
The purpose of radiation therapy is to shrink the tumor mass by destroying tumor cells. Tumors often suitable for radiosurgery include metastatic brain tumors and primary brain tumors as well as acoustic neuromas. Radiosurgery can also be used to block and slowly shrink malformed blood vessels of the brain.
Radiosurgery is most often performed on an outpatient basis. Generally, the entire procedure is completed in 8 or 9 hours. The actual radiation treatment is less than one hour. Most patients may resume normal activities the next day.
Stereotactic radiosurgery delivers focused high-dose radiation to small areas of the brain to treat a brain tumor, while sparing the surrounding normal tissue. Cooper is the only center in South Jersey that offers XKnife™ stereotactic radiosurgery, the most sophisticated type of stereotactic radiosurgery available. XKnife™ stereotactic radiosurgery, an outpatient procedure, is more effective in treating multiple brain tumors than other treatments and enables doctors to treat some tumors that would otherwise be untreatable. Recent reports show that it is comparable to open surgery in terms of tumor control, while avoiding the serious side effects.
Cooper radiation oncologists and neurosurgeons work together in delivering XKnife™ stereotactic radiosurgery. They use information from magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography to create a computerized three-dimensional (3D) model of the tumor and nearby normal brain tissue. Then, they use the 3D image to precisely identify and target the position of the tumor. A head frame is sometimes used to keep the head still so that the radiation is accurately aimed at the tumor.
Type of Tumors Treated with XKnife™ Stereotactic Radiosurgery:
- Brain Metastases
- Glioblastoma Multiform
- Meningiomas
- Pituitary Tumors
- Vestibular Schwannoma’s
For more information about Radiation Oncology at Cooper or to schedule an appointment with a Cooper University Physician, please call 1-800-8-COOPER (1-800-826-6737) to speak with a member of our physician referral and information service.
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Radionics XKnife™ RT
The Radionics XKnife™ RT system provides a precise and versatile radiation therapy solution. Create a customized system for treating brain tumors, vascular malformations, head, neck, spine, and body tumors.
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