OREANDA-NEWS. November 02, 2010.  A super-modern Cyber Knife technology for efficient cancer treatment will be applied for the first time at the end of this or at the beginning of the next year in the Federal Medical Biophysical Center named after A.I. Burnazyan of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA of Russia)

This technology was demonstrated today in the course of the official reception of General Director of IAEA Yukiya Amano.

Cyber Knife is the second instrument in Russia. The first one is in Burdenko Institute of Neurosurgery. “Today there are only about 1 thousand patients in the world who have been cured using this technology”, Head of the center laboratory Nikolay Borisov told the journalists today. “We’ll provide free treatment to the patients”, he assured. According to the specialists, the procedure is painless, destroys only sick cells, and does not cause severe consequences. Cyber Knife is applied only at initial stages of cancer and is not used for treatment of hollow organs (for example, the instrument is not used for treatment of stomach cancer). The instrument is of American production. But according to Head of FMBA of Russia Vladimir Uyba, Rosatom is going to develop its own technology.

“Russia is on the threshold of changes associated with cancer treatment”, he thinks. Uyba reminded that the oncological program providing for opening of oncology clinics, administration of up-to-date pharmaceuticals and a number of other measures had been implemented in our country for already two years. Vladimir Uyba gave prominence to establishment of nuclear medicine centers. “Construction is commenced in Dimitrovgrad, a ditch for a proton treatment center is being prepared”, Head of FMBA said. He said that the power of the proton accelerator would be very high. Completion of installation works is planned for the end of 2013. “In 2014, there will be fine-tuning technologies and specialists training”, Uyba informed. He added that as early as in 2014 the center will increase capacity getting ready for reception of its first patients. Up to 20 thousand Russian people are supposed to undergo treatment in the center every year. In all three nuclear medicine center are to be constructed in Russia. Apart from Dimitrovgrad they will be established in Obninsk and Tomsk. “It’ll make it possible to influence the incidence of complex nonresectable tumors cases”, Vladimir Uyba thinks.

General Director of IAEA Yukiya Amano noted in his turn: “This visit has impressed me greatly, your technologies are the most advanced”. “Not all countries have such opportunities”, he added. According to Yukiya Amano, “IAEA and Russia could render assistance to developing countries with high cancer incidence rates”.