Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Sophisticated 3D Imaging Guides Treatment
Stereotactic radiosurgery employs 3D imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to locate the brain tumor or other abnormality and define its size and shape. The images are also used to target the treatment area and plan your treatment, including the number of treatments and the dose. Typically, one to five treatments are needed. 

During treatment, a linear accelerator delivers high-energy X-rays with the highest level of precision, speed, and patient comfort. Imaging takes place during treatment. Your position is adjusted to ensure you are in exactly the correct position throughout the delivery of radiotherapy.

Maximizing Your Comfort
It is very important that you remain immobile during the procedure to ensure the precise delivery of the treatment. To maximize your comfort and ensure precision, Duke uses a custom-molded, plastic mask to immobilize your head that does not require a frame. Other devices, like the Gamma Knife, pin a head frame to the skull to immobilize patients during treatment. 

Scheduled in Combination with Other Treatments
Stereotactic radiosurgery can be timed in between or during cycles of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or other targeted therapies. This minimizes the delay of other effective treatments that are part of your treatment plan. Your treatment team will determine the optimal timing of your therapies.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy
Stereotactic radiosurgery used for body areas outside the brain is called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). It can be used to treat spine, lung, and liver tumors.

• Radiation oncologists: use radiation to treat cancer and other conditions.
• Neurosurgeons: use surgery and radiosurgery to treat brain and spine diseases.
• Medical oncologists: use chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy to treat cancer.
• Radiation physicists and dosimetrists: assist the radiation oncologist in planning the treatment and perform quality assurance on all plans.
• Radiation therapists: administer the treatments.
• Nurses (RN and/or nurse practitioners): provide care during radiation treatments.

Safety and Quality Assurance
We perform extensive quality assurance checks to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of every treatment

Simultaneous Treatment of Multiple Brain Metastases
The Duke radiosurgery approach permits simultaneous treatment of multiple brain metastases in under thirty minutes, a feature that is unavailable at most other institutions.

Expertise and Experience
More than 400 of these complex procedures are performed annually at Duke. We treat people who may be turned away at other hospitals because their tumors are too large, too numerous, too rare, or too complex.

Internationally Recognized Team
The Duke Brain and Spine Metastasis team is an internationally recognized group, comprising thought leaders who oversee major clinical trials, guidelines, medical societies, and multi-institutional research initiatives in the United States. Our team’s skills, expertise, and compassionate, personalized bedside approach ensure we consistently deliver exceptional outcomes.

Clinical Trial Access
You may be eligible to participate in a clinical trial that is testing new radiation therapies and techniques, as well as novel drugs in combination with radiotherapy.