April 13, 2009 - Accuray Inc. said that the second European Radiosurgery Workshop yielded record attendance with more than twice the number of attendees compared to the previous year.
The event was held last moth at the University Hospital of Charite in Berlin, Germany.
"The University Hospital of Charite is one of the oldest hospitals in Germany and among the largest university clinics in Europe with a reputation worldwide for excellence in medicine and research. We were thus very enthusiastic about hosting the second edition of this workshop focused on what is undeniably one of the major innovations in high precision radiosurgery during the last decade," said Professor Volker Budach, M.D., Ph.D., head of the radiation oncology department and president of the German Society for Radiation Oncology.
At this year's workshop, more than 200 attendees from 28 different countries throughout Europe and the Middle East gathered to hear presentations on the latest clinical and technical CyberKnife experiences. Leading experts from Europe and the U.S. presented studies, some consisting of populations as large as 400 patients, focused on brain, spine, lung, liver, pancreas and prostate. Attendees ranged from radiation oncologists and neurosurgeons to medical physicists and hospital administrators; all interested in learning more about the latest results as well as new approaches in treatment planning and dose delivery.
Highlights included a study presented by professor Eric Lartigau from Centre Oscar Lambret in Lille, France, on the use of CyberKnife radiosurgery to treat head and neck cancers. The study, which looked at 46 patients who had failed prior irradiation and were retreated with the CyberKnife, found CyberKnife radiosurgery to be a "new, potentially curative therapeutic option with immediate excellent tolerance."
Additionally, J.J. Nuyttens, M.D., from Erasmus MC - Daniel Den Hoed Cancer Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, presented experience treating the first 100 of the 200 lung lesions treated at Erasmus using CyberKnife radiosurgery over the past four years. He also highlighted results from a recent study comprising 29 lung cancer patients with central lung tumors, which are traditionally difficult to treat with radiation due to their close proximity to critical structures and organs. Using CyberKnife radiosurgery, the study achieved 88 percent local control with minimal toxicity at 2-years follow-up.
For more information: www.accuray.com
