We are pleased to announce that the Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC) is home to Ontario's first CyberKnife®Radiosurgery System and we have begun treating patients.
About CyberKnife® Technology
The CyberKnife® is the world’s first and only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumours anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy.
It is different from the usual radiation treatment machines in that it:
- continually tracks, detects and corrects for tumour and patient movement throughoutthe treatment;
- delivers high-dose radiation with an accuracy that minimizes damage tosurrounding healthy tissue;
- treats tumors from virtually unlimited directions with flexible robotic mobility;
- treats patients in as few as one to five visits as an outpatient with minimal side effects; and
- provides an option for patients diagnosed with previously inoperable or surgicallycomplex tumours.
Patients can be treated in as few as one to five visits as an outpatient with minimal side effects. The CyberKnife® provides an important option for patients diagnosed with previously inoperable or surgically complex tumours.
The CyberKnife® is used to treat small tumours, mainly in the brain but increasingly for small tumours outside the brain, such as lung cancers, where surgery would be indicated but for some reason is not possible.For more information on the CyberKnife®system, please visit
Treatment Sites/Indications
We are accepting patients for consultation and consideration for treatment with:
- Brain
- small primary brain tumours
- 1 to 3 small brain metastases
- recurrent 1 to 3 small brain metastases
- arteriovenous malformations
- Selected spine metastases (especially if previously treated)
- Lung
- small inoperable lung cancers mainly on study
- 1 to 3 small lung metastases, when surgery might be contemplated
- Liver
- 1 to 3 small liver metastases
- Inoperable pancreatic cancer
Indications are expected to expand to include early stage prostate cancer and selected early breast cancer on study. Additional information will be provided when available. Please also check the CyberKnife® page on our website for updates.
Patient Referral Information
Referrals for the CyberKnife® can be made through the New Patient Referral Office at JCC:
Phone: 905-387-9711 ext. 63410 or Fax: 905-575-6316
Candidates need to be able to lay flat without discomfort for up to 2 hours. If there is difficulty breathing in that position, or significant pain then treating with the CyberKnife may not be possible.
For advice or more information on suitability of CyberKnife treatment for you, please ask your doctor to contact the above number and they will arrange for your doctor to speak to the appropriate specialist.
Information requirements for referral
- Referral Letter from a physician
- Demographic information including the patient’s health card number
- Diagnostic information including CT scans, biopsy reports, lab work, MRI, Chest X-rays, and all pertinent testing
- Past history including previous treatment(s)
A note on biopsy information: for lung patients where biopsy has not been attempted due to concerns regarding pneumothorax, the lesion must be greater than 15mm in all dimensions and located centrally in the lung. In this case, a diagnostic CT is necessary to determine candidacy.
MRI requirements for intra-cranial treatment
If a diagnostic MRI has not yet been obtained refer to the MRI guidelines for CyberKnifedocument, available on the Juravinski Cancer Centre website. Following these imaging guidelines can help reduce the wait time for treatment once a referral has been made.
The Juravinski Cancer Centre is committed to evaluating shorter, more effective radiation treatments for cancer patients and we look forward to developing further research into the use of radiosurgery to decrease treatment time for patients and provide them with optimal cancer care.