Stereotactic radiosurgery uses a large dose of radiation to destroy tumor tissue in the brain. The procedure does not involve actual surgery. The patient's head is immobilized using either a mask or a frame to aim high-dose radiation beams directly at the tumor inside the patient's head. The dose and area receiving the radiation are coordinated very precisely. Most nearby tissues are not damaged by this procedure.
Stereotactic radiosurgery can be done in one of three ways
- The Gamma knife uses cobalt 60 to deliver radiation
- CyberKnife: Robotic Imaged Guided ablative radiation
- Varian RapidArc™ Trilogy® radiotherapy, the latest advancement in the delivery of radiation is a linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery method which delivers high-energy photon radiation directed to the tumor site.
Stereotactic radiosurgery is mostly used in the treatment of small benign and malignant brain tumors (including meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, and pituitary tumors, glomus tumors and vascular malformations such as AVM and cavernous angiomas and other vascular tumors). In addition, stereotactic radiosurgery can be used to treat metastatic brain tumors.
Extracranial Stereotactic Body radiotherapy uses essentially the same approach as intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery for brain tumors to deliver radiation to the tumors outside the brain area on any part of the body. Stereotactic radiotherapy uses 3-5 fractions of radiation as opposed to one single dose of radiation.
