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Clinical Trials at Capital Health
CyberKnife's Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial
Clinical Trials and Physician Participation
How Do Clinical Trials Benefit Medical Care?
Current Clinical Trials in CyberKnife:

Clinical Trials at Capital Health

Capital Health has a long history of participating in clinical research and there are many protocols available at both the Mercer hospital and Capital Health Regional Medical Center. We have a strong reputation in providing excellent care to our patients as well as offering the latest technology. At Capital Health's CyberKnife Center, furthering clinical care through research is important to our mission. We not only provide the most current treatment options in radiotherapy and CyberKnife radiosurgery but also participate in several clinical trials initiated at leading academic medical centers throughout the country. Click here to see a list of trial protocols that are currently available for CyberKnife at Capital Health.

CyberKnife's Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial

The Department of Radiation Oncology and the CyberKnife Center are enrolling subjects in a protocol sponsored by Accuray, the company that manufactures the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System. This study looks at the benefits of the high performance-treatment of prostate cancer using CyberKnife radiosurgery as compared to traditional external-beam radiation. Some of the benefits that this protocol can provide include: a precise, non-invasive surgical option, shorter treatment time as compared to standard radiation treatments (over a period of days rather than a month), and fewer side effects.

Worldwide research sponsored by Accuray has shown that the CyberKnife approach to prostate cancer treatment may be at least as effective as alternative therapies and with fewer side effects, delivered more comfortably and expediently in an outpatient setting. Since the opening of Capital Health’s CyberKnife Center, we’ve had great success treating prostate cancer patients. Over the past two years, we’ve treated 20 patients and all have had a drop in their PSA levels. What’s more, our patients have experienced fewer side effects (including little to no difficulty with urination and no sexual or bowel dysfunction as is normally experienced using traditional treatment options). For more information, please call the CyberKnife Center at 609-394-4565.

Clinical Trials and Physician Participation

Information from the American Society of Clinical Oncologists revealed that only three percent of adults with cancer participate in clinical trials - far fewer than the number needed to answer the most immediately pressing cancer questions. As physicians in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania region, your participation in the clinical trials program here at Capital Health is vital to academic and cancer care development, especially in the emerging field of CyberKnife Radiosurgery.

Capital Health participates in nationwide clinical trial studies allowing our patients access to novel cancer prevention or treatment studies available at larger academic centers. Our oncology program offers important National Cancer Institute clinical trials sponsored by RTOG, ECOG, NSAPB. And now at Capital Health, we are also developing and initiating our own Phase II and III protocols for our CyberKnife patients.

How Do Clinical Trials Benefit Medical Care?

Studies of new treatment approaches may lead to the development of more effective cancer treatments with fewer side effects. This may not only benefit the trial participants, but can also develop into a new standard of care that may benefit future generations. These research trials are designed to detect, prevent, or delay cancer, which can make an important impact on the patient's quality of life. The results from these studies can help physicians identify cancer early when it is easier to treat.

Note For Referring Physicians:

Please remember that probably the best way for a patient to enter into a clinical trial is through you, his or her personal physician. You can act as an intermediary and source of expert knowledge, which will be all the more reassuring in that it comes from a trusted source. We encourage you to call us at 609-394-4565 to discuss your patient's situation and answer any questions you may have.

Current Clinical Trials in CyberKnife:

1) CK Brain Mets-01- A Phase II consensus multi-institutional trial of CyberKnife Radiosurgery to the operative cavity in patients with resected brain metastases.

2) ACCP001.0- Prospective evaluation of CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery for low and intermediate Risk Prostate Cancer.