Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment And Organ Motion
If you have prostate cancer and your doctor has prescribed radiation therapy, there are some important things you should know about Calypso cancer treatment. Your organs naturally move during radiation treatment and your doctor cannot predict which way or how much your organs will move. When your organs move during radiation treatments the tumor may not get the right amount of radiation. Other nearby organs may receive radiation that is not meant for them during treatment. Fortunately, the Calypso® System, known to patients as GPS for the Body® technology, and tiny implanted Beacon® electromagnetic transponders can help your doctor know when your prostate is not aligned with the radiation beam during treatment.
Calypso cancer treatment is different from other methods to prepare you for radiation treatment. Calypso cancer treatment uses radiofrequency waves which allow very accurate alignment of your prostate before each treatment session. It can also be used to monitor the position of the prostate at all times during your radiation treatment delivery.
About The Calypso System
The Calypso System uses radiofrequency waves that allow very accurate alignment of your prostate before each treatment session and at all times during treatment delivery. This approach significantly improves the ability to target radiation to your tumor, avoiding unnecessary radiation to healthy tissues such as the bladder and rectum.
The Calypso localization and tracking system works with three Beacon® transponders, wireless electromagnetic circuits about the size of a grain of rice, that are implanted in the prostate. This enables physicians to:
- Locate the tumor’s position
- Guide the therapist to set up the treatment continuously through radiation therapy
- Tailor treatment delivery to trigger the beam on and off to ensure the tumor is accurately aligned throughout the treatment
A Beacon® transponder
Targeted Treatment For Prostate Cancer
The field of radiation therapy has been revolutionized in the past two decades. Now radiation therapy delivery is more targeted and precise than ever. Nebraska Medicine and its academic partner University of Nebraska Medical Center, have participated in the FDA approval study for the Calypso® 4D Localization System for example, which pinpoints the location of prostate cancers, and follows prostate movements in real time. This allows for correction of prostate motion as the radiation treatment is being delivered. We are also one of the few and potentially only center in the region using the Calypso® technology.
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About Dr Dan Sperling
Dan Sperling, MD, DABR, is a board certified radiologist who is globally recognized as a leader in multiparametric MRI for the detection and diagnosis of a range of disease conditions. As Medical Director of the Sperling Prostate Center, Sperling Medical Group and Sperling Neurosurgery Associates, he and his team are on the leading edge of significant change in medical practice. He is the co-author of the new patient book Redefining Prostate Cancer, and is a contributing author on over 25 published studies. For more information, contact the Sperling Prostate Center.
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What Is Calypso Cancer Treatment
Calypso’s GPS for the Body® technology provides accurate, precise, real-time tracking to keep radiation focused on the tumor, not surrounding healthy tissue. The result? Calypso cancer treatment helps the radiation reach the target to better fight the cancer and patients report experiencing fewer side effects.
Calypso’s GPS for the Body® technology enables doctors to localize and track the tumor before and during each prostate radiation treatment. When the tumor moves outside of the field of radiation, therapy can be stopped and the patient is re-positioned to ensure that the tumor, not surrounding healthy tissue, receives the radiation dose. The patient education video provides you with an overview of the importance of monitoring organ motion during radiation therapy delivery.
Watch the video below to learn more about calypso cancer treatment.
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Calypso 4d Localization Radiation System As A Prostate Cancer Treatment
Through a simple PSA blood test, Dr. Mark Allen, MD , a urologist with North Dallas Urology Associates, was able to quickly diagnose Michael* with prostate cancer. As an active 48-year old husband, father and president of a mid-size manufacturing plant, the diagnosis came as a complete shock. With no real symptoms, Michaels prostate cancer was caught early, however, because it was a more aggressive tumor, the watch and wait recommendation that is at times given to younger patients was not an option.
The news was very difficult for me to accept. We just sent our youngest daughter off to college and as new empty nesters, my wife and I were ready to travel and begin a series of remodeling projects around our house. Instead, I was in for a fight against cancer. I began my long and in-depth search for the right treatment that would allow me to live my life as I knew it before the diagnosis.
After consulting with his Dallas-based urologist and a variety of oncologists, Michael opted for radiation therapy using the Calypso 4D Localization System. Reluctant to have surgery, Michael learned through a team of oncologists that radiation therapy can be equally as effective as surgery in treating patients with prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer The Most Common Non
However, when found early, the prognosis improves significantly.
Nebraska Medicine is a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Thanks to innovative surgery and imaging techniques as well as targeted radiation therapy, we are continually improving the long-term outlook for men with prostate cancer.
In the past 20 years, the five-year survival rate for all stages combined has increased from 67 percent to 97 percent. Our innovative treatment strategies are also helping men beat prostate cancer without many of the harsh side effects and complications of the past.
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Prostate Cancer Genetics Clinic
Genes play an important role in cancer. People who inherited certain genetic changes have a higher risk of cancer. Prostate cancer from a genetic change can be more aggressive.
Genetic counseling and testing may help identify the best treatment for you. It can open the door for more ways to treat your cancer with targeted therapies. It can also inform your children and other relatives about their risk of developing cancer. This information can help them find ways to lower their risk of prostate, breast, ovarian, pancreatic, colorectal and other types of cancer.
Our Prostate Cancer Genetics Clinic provides complete care for patients who:
- Have prostate cancer or
- Have a genetic change that puts them at higher risk of prostate cancer
Our doctors and genetic counselors can talk with you about the risks and benefits of testing. We will also help you understand what the results mean for you and your family.
We follow guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. It recommends germline genetic testing if you have prostate cancer and any of the following:
- Your prostate cancer is only in your prostate and high-risk or your prostate cancer has spread to another part of your body .
- You have a family history that includes at least one of the following:
- Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry
Talk with your care team about whether genetic counseling and testing is right for you.
What Is Gps For The Body Technology
Actual prostate motion demonstrating drifting of the prostate during treatment up to 1cm for more than 2 minutes.
The Beacon® electromagnetic transponders and the Calypso® 4D Localization System, referred to as GPS for the Body®, is a system that provides an innovative solution for target localization and monitoring during radiation therapy delivery.
The Calypso® 4D Localization System displays and records prostate motioncontinuously in real-timethrough an intuitive graphical user interface. Clinicians use the visual and audio cues to manage prostate motion when the organ moves outside of the thresholds set by the radiation department.
The 4D Electromagnetic Array sends signals to the implanted Beacon® electromagnetic transponders for activation.
Continuous position and motion information about the prostate are received by the Calypso® 4D Localization System identifying sub-millimeter* misalignments.
1Multi-institutional clinical experience with the Calypso System in localization and continuous real-time monitoring of the prostate gland during external radiotherapy. Kupelian, P., Willoughby, T., Levine, Et al. March 15, 2007. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics. Volume 67, Issue 4, pages 1088-1098.
* Balter J. M., et al, Accuracy of a wireless localization system for radiotherapy. IJROBP Vol 61. No 3 pp 933-937, 2005.
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Calypso Study Shows Pinpoint Radiation For Prostate Cancer Curbs Side Effects
Calypso Medical Technologies was founded a decade ago on the belief that it could reduce side effects for cancer patients getting radiation treatment. Now the Seattle-based company has the first batch of clinical trial data to prove it.
A study of 64 patients who used the Calypso system to track their prostate tumors in real-time during radiation sessions had fewer bowel-related side effects like diarrhea, as well as less urinary irritation and erectile dysfunction, researchers said this week in the journal Urology. The findings were stacked up against those from a study published two years ago in the New England Journal of Medicine that enrolled 153 similar patients who got standard radiation, without the real-time, prostate tracking feature offered by Calypso.
Calypsos system was first cleared for sale in the U.S. in July 2006, based on some simple studies that showed it was safe, and roughly comparable in terms of accuracy to predecessor X-ray systems. But that didnt really offer proof that it helps patients lead healthier lives. Thats a key question Medicare wants to see answered, as the Calypso system can cost $400,000 to $500,000 for the machine, plus $1,200 per patient for implantable transponders. Essentially, the new clinical trial data is important because its the first evidence that says Calypsos technology can do what its supposed to do for patients.
Eric Meier
Of course, the study doesnt answer every important question Next Page »
Daily Target Guided Radiation Therapy Using The Calypso 4d Localization System In Patients Who Have Had A Prostatectomy For Prostate Cancer
| The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details. |
| Verified September 2015 by Dusten Macdonald, MD, Madigan Army Medical Center. Recruitment status was: Active, not recruitingFirst Posted : June 20, 2012Last Update Posted : September 11, 2015 |
This study will evaluate the daily use of a unique daily organ tracking system on target localization in patients treated with radiation therapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer.
Improved coverage of the target volume with radiotherapy could result in improved cancer control rates and decreased coverage of surrounding structures potentially decreasing treatment toxicity.
| Prostate Cancer |
Daily cone-beam computed tomography images will also be retrospectively analyzed to assess for adequate target coverage. The analysis will be performed retrospectively through manual 3-D registration of the cone-beam CT dataset with the treatment planning CT scan. This information will determine the margins necessary for the PTV using the Calypso 4D Localization System and potentially may allow a reduction in the PTV volumes on future studies.
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Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy
IMRT, an advanced form of 3D-CRT therapy, is the most common type of external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer. It uses a computer-driven machine that moves around the patient as it delivers radiation. Along with shaping the beams and aiming them at the prostate from several angles, the intensity of the beams can be adjusted to limit the doses of radiation reaching nearby normal tissues. This lets doctors deliver an even higher radiation dose to the cancer.
Some newer radiation machines have imaging scanners built into them. This advance, known as image guided radiation therapy , lets the doctor take pictures of the prostate just before giving the radiation to make minor adjustments in aiming. This appears to help deliver the radiation even more precisely and results in fewer side effects.
A variation of IMRT is called volumetric modulated arc therapy . It uses a machine that delivers radiation quickly as it rotates once around the body. This allows each treatment to be given over just a few minutes. Although this can be more convenient for the patient, it hasnt yet been shown to be more effective than regular IMRT.
Proton Beam Radiation Therapy
Proton beam therapy focuses beams of protons instead of x-rays on the cancer. Unlike x-rays, which release energy both before and after they hit their target, protons cause little damage to tissues they pass through and release their energy only after traveling a certain distance. This means that proton beam radiation can, in theory, deliver more radiation to the prostate while doing less damage to nearby normal tissues. Proton beam radiation can be aimed with techniques similar to 3D-CRT and IMRT.
Although in theory proton beam therapy might be more effective than using x-rays, so far studies have not shown if this is true. Right now, proton beam therapy is not widely available. The machines needed to make protons are very expensive, and they arent available in many centers in the United States. Proton beam radiation might not be covered by all insurance companies at this time.
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How The Calypso 4d Localization System Works
For Michael, and millions of other men diagnosed with prostate cancer, there are a few facts to know that will come as a surprise in terms of radiation therapy. The organs within the body move naturally during radiation therapy a doctor cannot accurately predict which way these organs will move. If the organs move during radiation treatment, they risk receiving the radiation that is not meant for them.
The Calypso system is known throughout the medical community as the GPS for the body. With a tiny beacon that is inserted into the tumor, the physician is able to align the radiation directly and precisely to the tumor. This precise and real-time tracking has clinically been proven to raise the quality of life and reduce the side effects associated with prostate cancer radiation therapy.
For Michael, Calypso radiation therapy treatment proved to be a successful treatment option for his cancer. Sexual activity has remained active and as normal as possible and there are no out-of-the-ordinary urinary-related side effects associated from the cancer treatment.
What To Expect During The Procedure
Once the patient has arrived at the facility, a nurse will check their vitals and weight. The patient will then be taken to the exam room to speak with the physician performing the procedure. Next, the patient will receive a dose of antibiotic and will be taken to the procedure room.
The patient will sit in an exam chair with their legs up in stirrups. The radiation oncologist will then apply local anesthetic to numb the area around the prostate. An ultrasound probe will be placed into the patients rectum and three marker seeds will be inserted into the prostate through ultrasound-based needle guidance. The seeds are injected through the skin on the outside of the body between the rectum and the scrotum.
The entire procedure will take about 20 to 30 minutes, after which the patient will have a CT scan of the prostate to make sure the seeds were inserted properly and into the right locations.
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Potential Side Effects And Risks
The procedure is relatively safe, with about one out of three patients likely to develop one of the following temporary symptoms:
- Small amounts of blood in the urine
- Increased urine frequency
In most cases, symptoms subside within two weeks. However, if patients experience any of the following symptoms, they should or visit the emergency room:
- Pain that is becoming more severe
- Bright red blood or large clots in the urine
- A temperature of 101° F or higher
At UCI Urology, our prostate cancer specialists are compassionate and experienced in selecting the best treatment or combination of treatments for each situation.
UCI Urology – Orange101 The City Drive South Pavilion III Building 29,
Addressing Your Personal Care Needs
Addressing a patients physical, educational, emotional and spiritual needs are important aspects of providing a more complete and holistic approach to care. A host of amenities and supportive services are available to help meet these needs. This includes personal care services such as wigs, wig fittings, yoga, massage therapy, skin care and more specifically geared for people with or recovering from cancer are also provided in a private setting.
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What Is The Calypso 4d Localization Radiation System For Prostate Cancer
The Calypso 4D Localization System is quickly becoming the treatment of choice for thousands of men faced with prostate cancer. It offers a therapeutic approach that cures the cancer while allowing them to remain active and fully functioning.
Dr. Mark Allen, MD, a urologist with North Dallas Urology Associates, treated Michael for his prostate cancer. Dr. Allen, who is one of the only doctors in the Dallas/Fort Worth market who offers the Calypso treatment, said, Most of my prostate cancer patients want two things: they want reduced side effects as a result of the cancer treatment and they want to keep their quality of life. The Calypso radiation technology uses real-time tracking which is immensely important because it enables us to deliver high amounts of radiation directly to the tumor while sparing all other organs from any exposure. This reduces the side effects which improves their quality of life.
For Michael, incontinence and a decrease in sexual activity were huge concerns in regards to the side effects he might suffer from surgery or other radiation therapies. While there is no guarantee with any prostate cancer treatment or procedure in eliminating or reducing known side effects, the Calypso has a notably high success rate in serious treatment-related symptoms.