Lung presentation is latest in cancer treatment center’s string of pioneering studies.

1. Feb. 21, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Tiambeng, Zehnder Communications, (504) 962-3731, saraht@z-comm.com
Philadelphia CyberKnife Continues Trailblazing Cancer Research
Lung presentation is latest in cancer treatment center’s string of pioneering studies
HAVERTOWN, Pa. – Philadelphia CyberKnife physicians are set this week to present innovative
research findings demonstrating the effectiveness of stereotactic body radiation therapy for treating
primary and recurrent lung cancer.
Two studies will be presented Feb. 22 at the Radiosurgery Society’s 2013 SRS/SBRT Scientific
Meeting in California. These are the latest studies from Philadelphia CyberKnife, which has carved a
niche for trailblazing clinical research focused on stereotactic body radiation therapy. CyberKnife®
is a
robotic technology that provides stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT, a noninvasive method
of treating tumors with very precise, high-dose radiation beams in five or fewer procedures.
The first study focused on lung cancer patients who were previously treated and had tumors grow
back. Such cases can be difficult, doctors say, because patients typically have undergone radiation
therapy previously and are near the maximum amount of radiation medically allowed. These patients
typically have very limited options with little prior research on SBRT’s effectiveness on recurring
tumors reported.
Dr. Rachelle Lanciano, chief of radiation oncology at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, says these
patients had limited options before CyberKnife technology. “We’re now able to offer patients extended
survival with good quality of life by managing these patients collaboratively with medical oncologists,”
Dr. Lanciano says.
In a second study, CyberKnife treatment destroyed tumors in all but three of the 90 patients with
primary lung cancer.
“The results were so extraordinary, we believe the study shows how the medical community needs to
find more ways to incorporate stereotactic body radiation therapy in the regular treatment of lung
cancer patients,” says Dr. John Lamond, Philadelphia CyberKnife’s associate medical director, who
authored the second study.
Philadelphia CyberKnife is part of Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill, Pa. Since
opening in 2006 through a partnership with the hospital, Philadelphia CyberKnife radiation oncologists
and medical physicists have become regular faces at radiation therapy conferences, presenting a
growing number of studies regarding treatment of lung, liver and prostate cancers.
“We were the first CyberKnife center in the region, and when we opened there was little data on
radiation dosing,” says Dr. Lanciano, who co-authored the first lung study. “We realized early on that,
especially with the number of unique cancer cases we were treating, we owed it to our patients and
their referring doctors to let them know what our experience was and how we’re doing.”

2. She and other staff members credit Dr. Luther Brady, the center’s founder, medical director and a
pioneer of radiation oncology, for making clinical research a priority. Dr. Brady, professor and
chairman emeritus of radiation oncology at Drexel University, established a formal relationship to
enable residents to rotate through Philadelphia CyberKnife. In addition to getting hands-on
experience, residents offer crucial assistance with the center’s research efforts and gain opportunities
to co-author and present research findings at major conferences.
“When we started out, our treatment was in large part relying on other centers’ data,” says Dr.
Lamond. “We’ve treated almost 2,000 patients, so we’re able to publish our own data and point to our
own results.”
Additionally, Dr. Jun Yang, Ph.D., Philadelphia CyberKnife’s chief medical physicist, has served as
lead author on other studies involving technical aspects of SBRT. His most recent was published
online in late 2012 by the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, also known as the Red Journal
and one of the world’s most respected sources of research in the field. Dr. Yang’s study is due in print
later this spring.
His research focused on the way tumors and healthy tissue react to radiation, which requires doctors
to carefully plan radiation doses and time intervals over the course of treatment. Long-held standards
call for spreading the radiation dose throughout a long course of treatment to protect healthy tissue
exposed to radiation.
Dr. Yang’s findings documented how SBRT affects tumors and healthy tissue differently than
traditional radiation therapy methods. Essentially, he explained the physics of how higher radiation
doses could be delivered to the tumor while the healthy tissue received significantly lower exposure
from stereotactic body radiation therapy.
“This scientific data is essential as the underlying reason for why retreatments are possible with
CyberKnife,” Dr. Yang says. “With conventional radiation therapy, lower doses are administered over
time, but we found with SBRT, pinpoint delivery of higher doses delivers better results.”
In a prostate cancer study published last fall, Philadelphia CyberKnife made a similar kind of
discovery. Cancerous cells in the prostate gland are somewhat unique in that they tend to grow more
slowly than other kinds of tumors. Dr. Yang says that when comparing low- and high-dose regimens,
the center found a quicker course of treatment with higher radiation doses worked better, which is
contrary to conventional radiation therapy.
The center is currently finalizing studies on brain and gynecological cancers, while others are in
earlier stages of research.
Philadelphia CyberKnife is a service of Delaware County Memorial Hospital, a member of the Crozer-
Keystone Health System, and is located off the hospital’s main campus at 2010 West Chester Pike in
Havertown, Penn. For more information, call (610) 446-6850.