CyberKnife Radiosurgery For Prostate Cancer

The future of insurance coverage for CyberKnife radiosurgery, a new prostate cancer treatment which uses narrow beams of radiation - is currently being debated.

Convenience is the big attraction. Men who choose regular radiation often get about 40 treatments of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) over eight weeks. The patients whoopt for the Cyberknife Radiotherapy which is also known as stereotactic body radiotherapy or SBRT receive five higher doses over a week or two.

As is the case with new treatments for many cancers, the long term data is not available to allow advocates of the Cyberknife to prove that the outcomes are as good or better than conventional therapy. And, it is this lack of data will may lead insurance companies to stop reimbursing patients if they choose the Cyberknife.

To date Medicare has not set a national standard and private insurers often follow medicare's lead.

Though more than one machine can deliver this kind of therapy, CyberKnife, made by Accuray Inc., is the one most associated with prostate SBRT.