Treatment options

SBRT & Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)

SBRT – Although “surgery” is a part of the acronym, SBRT is a noninvasive treatment. During the procedure, doctors simply ask that a patient lie quietly and breathe normally. SBRT is appropriate for patients who have small, clearly delineated tumors. For example, an early stage lung cancer patient whose only sign of disease is a 2-centimeter nodule, or someone with colon cancer whose metastasis in the liver is up to 5 centimeters in size, could benefit from SBRT. What matters most is that doctors can target the whole tumor because they can see and delineate it on imaging studies.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a highly precise form of radiation therapy initially developed to treat small brain tumors and functional abnormalities of the brain.  Despite its name, SRS is a non-surgical procedure that delivers precisely-targeted radiation at much higher doses, in only a single or few treatments, as compared to traditional radiation therapy. This treatment is only possible due to the development of highly advanced radiation technologies that permit maximum dose delivery within the target while minimizing dose to the surrounding healthy tissue. The goal is to deliver doses that will destroy the tumor and achieve permanent local control.

SRS and SBRT are important alternatives to invasive surgery, especially for patients who are unable to undergo surgery and for tumors and abnormalities that are:

• hard to reach
• located close to vital organs/anatomic regions