Radiosurgery
Radiosurgery is surgery using radiation,[1] that is, the destruction of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy), it is usually used to treat cancer. Radiosurgery was originally defined by the Swedish neurosurgeon Lars Leksell as "a single high dose fraction of radiation, stereotactically directed to an intracranial region of interest".[2]
This article is about the medical procedure. For the album by American rock band New Found Glory, see Radiosurgery (album).Radiosurgery
In stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), the word "stereotactic" refers to a three-dimensional coordinate system that enables accurate correlation of a virtual target seen in the patient's diagnostic images with the actual target position in the patient. Stereotactic radiosurgery may also be called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) or stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) when used outside the central nervous system (CNS).[3]
Risks[edit]
The New York Times reported in December 2010 that radiation overdoses had occurred with the linear accelerator method of radiosurgery, due in large part to inadequate safeguards in equipment retrofitted for stereotactic radiosurgery.[28] In the U.S. the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates these devices, whereas the Gamma Knife is regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
This is evidence that immunotherapy may be useful for treatment of radiation necrosis following stereotactic radiotherapy.[29]