LINAC Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Stereotactic therapy can be delivered on an adapted standard linear accelerator, such as a Varian Trilogy and TrueBeam, on a helical linear accelerator, called tomotherapy, or on a robotic arm linear accelerator (CyberKnife radiosurgery). This approach delivers massive doses of radiation that are biologically much more effective than standard radiotherapy.
A linear accelerator can be adapted to deliver intracranial stereotactic radiation using a stereotactic frame or a very specialized non-invasive stereotactic mask. Intracranial diagnoses conducive for stereotactic therapy include metastases, trigeminal neuralgia, acoustic neuroma, atriovenous malformation, and some recurrent gliomas.
Stereotactic radiation therapy employs special equipment to deliver high doses of radiation while decreasing the normal tissue included in the treatment field. Using special equipment to position the patient and localize the tumor allows precise delivery of radiation therapy to the tumor. This has been used for many years for tumors in the brain for both benign and malignant tumors. Treatment in the brain is typically performed in one session, using rigid immobilization, and it is called stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) since it is typically performed in one session.
Recent advances in patient immobilization, imaging, and daily tumor localization and tracking now allow treatment with nearly the same precision as those treatments for the brain. These advances have also enabled the development of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). This technique allows the treatment from many different directions with smaller total doses to normal tissue and much higher doses to the tumor during each treatment. This increases the likelihood of tumor control. SBRT is typically given in 2-5 radiotherapy sessions.
