In a recent interview for the Cancer Channel, our Dr. Cynthia Anderson describes the role and impact of stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of tumors involving the spine. Dr. Anderson discusses the advantages and results of this technique for affected patients.

Dr. Anderson: Patients that have tumors that metastasize to their spine, or patients who have tumors of the spine itself, their main complaint is pain. This can be very debilitating pain and it's a pain that they experience all day long. The pain gives them an inability to sit or sleep comfortably, limits their range of motion, and if it progresses long enough, it can actually lead to a fracture

How are these tumors identified?

Dr. Anderson: They can be identified in a couple of ways, either a patient can alert us to their symptoms by telling us they are starting to have back pain, or a patient could be diagnosed with cancer. In this case, we're just doing a full work up of their body to check to make sure if the cancer has spread anywhere else, and we notice the spinal tumor that way.

Read more of the interview...