Spinal Radiosurgery (S-RC) / Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy What is S-SBRT?
Spinal Radiosurgery (S-RC), also referred to as Spinal Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (S-SBRT), is an effective and non-surgical modern radiotherapy modality for treatment of benign and malignant tumors located in the vertebrae, spinal cord and around it.
The first step is to make decision on the appropriate treatment and create a personalized treatment plan jointly with all relevant branches through a multidisciplinary approach. Treatment requirement is usually dictated by pain and conditions that pose a threat to the integrity of the spine and cause compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots. The decision on preference of S-RC/S-SBRT or its combination with surgery is jointly made by Neurosurgeon and radiation oncologist. Although S-RC/S-SBRT alone is usually deemed sufficient, surgery may be required before and after S-RC/S-SBRT and S-RC/S-SBRT can also be combined with other therapies.
S-RC/S-SBRT delivers high-dose radiation to the target area on a single session or multiple sessions (3-10 sessions) under supervision of specialists. The procedure is properly carried out with specialized models of therapy devices, called “Linear Accelerator”. Although the procedure aims the spread (metastasis) of a tumor in any body part to the spine, it can be successfully performed to treat both malignant tumors originating from the spine or nerves, soft tissue components and benign tumors that require treatment.
During treatment process, it is necessary to visualize the diseased area properly, perform treatment precisely and adapt patients to even minor changes in position.
Linear Accelerator (Linak)
Although S-RC/S-SBRT can be applied using many different devices, there are other important factors, such as harmony of the multidisciplinary team regarding the indication, timing and decision of intervention, experience of neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists and knowledge and experiences of all team members. High-tech Linak used at our department is a new generation device that has an integrated tomography scanner, can shape light beams according to the tumor volume, has a robotic table, is not confined in any dimension and does not require getting in an indoor space, and the device also allows us complete the therapy in a very short time.
Intended Use of the Device
Malignant Tumors
• Metastases
• Sarcoma
• Ependymoma
Benign tumors
• Chordoma.
• Hemangioma
• Neurofibroma
• Desmoid tumor
• Schwannoma
• Fibroma
• Hemangioblastoma
The decision regarding whether S-RC/S-SBRT is a viable option for your disease is made after comprehensive interviews, examinations and tests are performed by our team.