Is GK the gold standard radiation treatment currently or CK or multi-session CK?

[suzy33]

Hi All,
I was diagnosed 2 months ago (1.6mm), I am very keen for radaition treatment but am having hard time figuring out what type of radiation treatment is the most advanced and advantageous?! It looks like GK is the most common!

(I live in Melbourne, Australia)

I really appreciate your views on this.
Kind Regrads
suzy

[PaulW]

Wow, your AN is TINY! I didn't know they could identify them that small
Are you sure its not 1.6cm or 16mm

I live in Australia so this is what is possible within Australia.

There is no CK in Australia yet, a new Cyberknife M6 FIM is being commissioned in the Charles Gairdner hospital in Perth later this year.

GK is available at Macquarie University Hospital in Sydney its been running since late 2010. Its the only GK in Australia.
http://www.muh.org.au/ServicesSpecialties/GammaKnife.aspx
If you contact your local support group they have a free DVD of a GK presentation held at the NSW support group meeting in Goulburn last year. Salina Barrett is the main contact. She is very helpful.

The majority of GK is now claimable under Medicare which makes GK extremely affordable.

As to which machine is better CK or GK or fractionated CK
There are some advantages and disadvantages with all, and depending on your situation one machine may have a slight edge over the other.
It is my personal view that its a bit like saying Mercedes is better than BMW.
The results coming from both machines are very similar.
The biggest advantage of GK versus CK in Australia is price, but that may change when the new CK machine is commissioned in Perth

[suzy33]

Dear Paul,

Thank you very much for the information and your views.  It is good to hear that CK coming to Australia. I have recently made an appointment with NSW GK, and am very keen to hear what they will say.

P S- sorry I meant 1.6 cm not 1.6 mm 

Kind regards

[phantagrae]

I was wondering about this GK vs CK the other day.

I was checking to see if there was a CK anywhere in Arkansas (doesn't seem to be) and came across information about GK on a website for UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) here in Little Rock.
They have GK, but not CK, and their page was basically touting GK over CK, saying it was more accurate, etc., and talking about the advantages of the fixed head frame over the molded mask used in CK.  I was surprised that they were downplaying the advantages of CK.

But, of course, on other sites, like for the Barrow Institute, some of the very things UAMS was listing as negatives were stated as positivies--no frame, for example
And Barrow also has GK, so it wasn't really trashing GK treatment, either, simply offering either treatment as an option depending on what needed to be treated, etc.

[arizonajack]

Aysuda,

The following articles may be of interest to you:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/857604-overview#showall

http://www.panarabneurosurgery.org.sa/journal/October2008/p1-10%20(551).pdf

http://thejns.org/doi/pdf/10.3171/2012.6.FOCUS12192

http://thejns.org/doi/pdf/10.3171/2012.7.GKS12783

[suzy33]

Hey !

Thank you so much for the links.
Cheers

[Nannybee]

Phantagrae and Ausuda, my treatment was neither GK or CK, but was a single fraction stereotactic radio surgery with the Trilogy machine which has the capability to do both single dose and fractionated treatment. For me, the decision came down to insurance coverage and which machines the participating hospitals had. I received 12 Gy to the tumor and saw my treatment map which was quite precise with little radiation to the cochlea or brainstem. I did a lot of research, asked a lot of questions and had a good feeling about my treatment team (neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist, physicist, neuroradiologist) which I think was the most important thing. I saw another neurosurgeon at my alternate participating hospital who did GK but was a total pompus ass and didn't have a good feeling at all about treatment there. Next MRI is in October.
Good luck to you both.

[ppearl214]

Hi Nannybee, I know of a few that have had Trilogy on their ANs and would love to hear your updates as well.  Can you please keep us updated regarding your post-radiation journey as it will help others here in their research about radiation and Trilogy, as well as other treatment options.  Thanks! Wellness wishes to you! Phyl

Phantagrae and Ausuda, my treatment was neither GK or CK, but was a single fraction stereotactic radio surgery with the Trilogy machine which has the capability to do both single dose and fractionated treatment. For me, the decision came down to insurance coverage and which machines the participating hospitals had. I received 12 Gy to the tumor and saw my treatment map which was quite precise with little radiation to the cochlea or brainstem. I did a lot of research, asked a lot of questions and had a good feeling about my treatment team (neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist, physicist, neuroradiologist) which I think was the most important thing. I saw another neurosurgeon at my alternate participating hospital who did GK but was a total pompus ass and didn't have a good feeling at all about treatment there. Next MRI is in October.
Good luck to you both.

[suzy33]

Good luck with your treatment Phantagrae !

I think I will have GK because that's the only option here.

But the team is relatively new in doing GK, (2 years-only done 20 ANs) but they have Leksell GK Perfexion.
I am wondering whether experience is essential in GK, or following international dose guidelines etc, and having a good machine like Perfexion is sufficient to achieve good outcomes ?!

Apparently Leksell GK Perfexion is fully automated. Does that mean it calculates all the dose distribution etc by itself?!

Anyone has knowledge about Leksell GK treatment planning?! Your input will be appreciated.

Cheers