Comparing Prostate Radiation Treatment Options 

Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment with Calypso Real-Time Tracking 

versus 

Conventional Image Guided Radiation Therapy

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Prostate Cancer Treatment Options

• If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you and your doctor may be considering prostate radiation therapy. 

• This presentation contains information about prostate radiation treatment options (image guided radiation therapy for prostate cancer). 

• Comparisons are made between conventional prostate radiation treatments and the latest prostate cancer treatment, IMRT with Calypso real-time tracking. 

• Consult with your doctor on whether Calypso may be the best prostate cancer treatment for you.

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Prostate Motion

• The prostate is located next to the bladder and the rectum with the urethra running through the prostate. Because of the prostate's proximity to sensitive organs, organ motion is an important consideration when administering cancer radiation treatment. 

• Breathing and other bodily functions cause organs to move within the body. If the prostate moves out of the target range during cancer radiation treatment, surrounding healthy tissue (bladder, urethra, and rectum) may be damaged.

• This damage is what causes prostate radiation side effects, like uncontrollable diarrhea, sexual dysfunction, and urinary incontinence.

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Conventional Prostate Radiation Treatment

• With conventional cancer radiation treatment, the clinician locates the prostate’s position within the body prior to treatment using external marks on the body and some form of image guidance.

• As a result, prostate motion during cancer radiation treatments may go undetected.

Conventional prostate localization prior to cancer radiation treatment using external marks and image guidance.

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Conventional Prostate Radiation Treatment

• Because the prostate’s exact position is not known at all times, the radiation must be delivered to an area large enough to account for motion that may occur during treatment.

• This results in radiation hitting healthy tissue surrounding the tumor, which can cause prostate radiation side effects.

• If the tumor moves out of the path of the radiation beam during conventional treatment, there is no way for the clinician to know.

• When this happens, additional surrounding healthy tissue is irradiated and the tumor may not receive the full dose of radiation.

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Localization + Real-Time Tracking

• With Calypso the prostate is located prior to treatment and is tracked in real-time at all times during cancer radiation treatment.

• This level of precision allows a narrower beam of radiation than the conventional approach. This approach is safer for surrounding healthy organs.

• And, because prostate radiation treatment is precision-targeted, the cancer radiation treatments can more effectively irradiate the whole tumor.

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Beacon Transponders + Real-Time Tracking

• The technology behind the Calypso System is known as GPS for the Body. • Three tiny Beacon transponders, are implanted in the prostate by a urologist during a

simple outpatient procedure before the radiation treatment.• During prostate radiation treatment the transponders are activated by the Calypso

System and track the exact location of the prostate in real time.

Beacon transponders are 8mm in length, about the size of a grain of rice.

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The Calypso Advantage

• The Calypso System accurately and precisely tracks the position of targeted tissue in real time by using non-ionizing radio-frequency waves.

• It is the only real-time technology for prostate radiation treatment that safeguards against additional, unnecessary radiation and potential prostate radiation side effects.

• Real-time tracking allows prostate radiation treatment to be targeted, so that organ motion is far less likely to damage healthy tissue.

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Margin Reduction + Safer Radiation Targeting

• With Calypso, if the prostate moves outside of the target zone, putting healthy tissue at risk, the radiation beam is turned off until the prostate returns to the target zone.

• Because prostate cancer radiation with Calypso is precision-targeted, physicians can administer a narrower, more concentrated beam of radiation.

• This is referred to as “margin reduction,” and minimizes the risk of prostate radiation side effects associated with irradiating healthy tissue. 

With conventional treatment, the radiation beam stays on when the prostate moves out of the target zone. With Calypso real-time tracking, the radiation beam is shut off when the prostate is outside the target zone.

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Study Results: Reduced Prostate Radiation Side Effects

• A recent clinical study, AIM (Assessing the Impact of Margin Reduction)1, was conducted to compare prostate radiation side effects in men who were treated with the Calypso System with those treated with the conventional cancer radiation treatment.

• As shown on the right, patients treated without Calypso real-time tracking reported significantly increased side effects compared to those treated with Calypso real-time tracking.

1. Sandler, Howard, et al. “Reduction in Patient-reported Acute Morbidity in Prostate Cancer Patients Treated With 81-Gy Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy Using Reduced Planning Target Volume Margins and Electromagnetic Tracking: Assessing the Impact of Margin Reduction Study.” Urology 75, no. 5 (2010): 1004-008.

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• The Calypso System’s real-time tracking enables radiation for prostate cancer treatment to be more precise than the conventional approach to image guided radiation therapy for prostate cancer. 

• Using GPS for the Body technology, healthy organs are spared from unnecessary irradiation, which reduces the risk of sexual and bowel/urinary side effects.

• If your doctor has told you that radiation therapy is among your prostate cancer treatment options, ask about Calypso real-time tracking.

• Radiation for prostate cancer treatment also allows patients to avoid prostatectomy side effects from surgical treatment for prostate cancer.

Conclusion