FV Hospital has officially announced its investment in the CyberKnife® S7™ System – the world’s only robotic radiosurgery platform designed to treat tumours located anywhere in the body without the need for surgery. This advanced technology marks a significant step forward in non-invasive cancer care, offering patients a safer, more accurate treatment option.

Notably, cancer treatment using the CyberKnife® S7™ system is eligible for coverage under Vietnam’s national health insurance scheme.

At the technology transfer and purchase signing ceremony on May 6, Mr Nguyen Thanh Duy – CEO of TD Tech and representative of Accuray, the world’s leading radiosurgery technology manufacturer, announced that FV Hospital is the first medical facility in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia to be equipped with the CyberKnife® S7™ system. This next generation radiosurgery platform is also being used to treat non-cancer conditions, including cerebral vascular malformations and cardiac arrhythmias.

By leading the adoption of advanced technologies in cancer care and consistently expanding its team with top-tier specialists from Singapore, FV Hospital is enhancing treatment outcomes and increasing access to high-quality oncology services in Vietnam. These efforts further reinforce FV Hospital’s Hy Vong Cancer Care Centre’s position as one of the region’s leading cancer treatment facilities.

CyberKnife® S7™: Robotic Radiosurgery System for Non-Invasive Treatment of a Range of Tumours

Radiosurgery is a highly advanced treatment modality that uses precisely focused radiation beams instead of a scalpel to destroy tumours. Invented in 1990 by Dr John R. Adler, a neurosurgeon at Stanford University, the CyberKnife system has undergone seven generations of refinement over more than 30 years of clinical use. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in over 5,000 peer-reviewed studies published in leading international medical journals.

As the latest and most advanced model, the CyberKnife® S7™ is transforming cancer care through its minimally invasive approach. The system can treat a wide range of tumours located anywhere in the body with exceptional precision. Notably, it can also accurately target moving tumours, while reducing treatment time and significantly minimising side effects.

“This is the only radiosurgery robot in the world capable of delivering fully individualised cancer treatment in real time,” said Mr Nguyen Thanh Duy. “The CyberKnife® S7™ leverages artificial intelligence to track tumours during treatment and adapt beam delivery in response to patient breathing or tumour movement. This not only reduces treatment time by one-half to one-third but also enhances treatment quality.”

A key technological advancement of the CyberKnife® S7™ is its real-time image-guidance system with robotic arm integrated with a 6 MV linear accelerator. With six degrees of freedom, the system can manoeuvre flexibly in three-dimensional space, delivering sub-millimetre precision. This allows highly focused radiation to be directed at tumour sites while minimising exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.

Powered by artificial intelligence and equipped with advanced Synchrony® technology, the CyberKnife® S7™ continuously adjusts radiation beam positioning in real time to track tumour motion caused by respiration or internal organ movement, such as in the lungs, liver, or prostate. This eliminates the need for traditional immobilisation devices or breath-hold techniques commonly required by conventional radiotherapy systems.

The Synchrony system enables continuous radiation delivery directly to the tumour, reducing unnecessary exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and significantly lowering the risk of side effects. This results in a more comfortable treatment experience and improved post-treatment quality of life for patients. Additionally, treatment duration is significantly shortened, with most patients requiring only 1 to 5 sessions, compared to 10 to 40 sessions with conventional radiotherapy.

Unlike most radiosurgery systems that are limited to treating brain tumours, the CyberKnife® S7™ can target tumours throughout the body – including the brain, head and neck, lungs, breast, spine, liver, kidneys, pancreas, prostate, and gynaecological organs. This versatility makes it an essential tool for oncologists seeking to apply non-invasive radiosurgery across a wide range of cancers. Notably, the CyberKnife® S7™ can also be used to treat recurrent tumours or those located in hard-to-reach areas where conventional surgery is not an option.

FV Hospital: Vietnam’s First Medical Facility Equipped with the CyberKnife® S7™ Robotic Radiosurgery System

Explaining FV Hospital’s decision to invest in one of the world’s most advanced radiosurgery systems, Dr Jean-Marcel Guillon, CEO of FV Hospital, said: “This state-of-the-art cancer treatment technology is already in use at leading hospitals around the world. It enables doctors to destroy very small cancer cells located in difficult-to-access areas throughout the body. With this investment, the Hy Vong Cancer Care Centre at FV Hospital will officially advance to a new level, becoming a pioneering centre in cancer treatment in the region.”

Dr Jean-Marcel Guillon also noted that operating such an advanced and complex system requires the combination of several factors. The machine must be installed in a specially designed basement environment that meets strict safety standards and requires ongoing cooperation and technical support from the supplier and manufacturer throughout its operation. Most importantly, a team of highly trained doctors, technicians, and medical physicists is required – an area in which the Hy Vong Cancer Care Centre at FV Hospital is especially strong, as recognised by the CyberKnife® S7™ system provider.

Dr Basma M’Barek, Head of the Hy Vong Cancer Care Centre, highlighted the advantages of the CyberKnife® S7™ over conventional radiotherapy systems. “CyberKnife® S7™ enables more precise targeting of the treatment area. For example, in pancreatic cancer, a type of cancer surrounded by many complex organs, CyberKnife® S7™ delivers radiation more accurately to lesions than other systems. Another key benefit is that CyberKnife® S7™ can also be used to treat non-cancerous conditions such as arteriovenous malformations in the brain or arrhythmias, which other radiotherapy machines cannot do.”

FV Establishes a Regional-Calibre Centre for Advanced Cancer Treatment

The Hy Vong Cancer Care Centre at FV Hospital has firmly established itself as one of the leading cancer treatment centres in Vietnam and the region. This reputation has been built through continuous investment in state-of-the-art infrastructure, and the delivery of comprehensive, integrated cancer care. All essential services, from diagnosis, staging, radiotherapy, surgery, and chemotherapy to nutrition counselling, psychological support, pain management, and palliative care, are provided in one location. The centre also brings together a multidisciplinary team of experienced oncology experts from both Vietnam and abroad, along with highly skilled technicians and radiotherapists, enabling the successful treatment of even complex and late-stage cancer cases.

In addition, FV continues to expand its international partnerships in the field of oncology. This effort was further strengthened in 2024 when FV officially became a member of Thomson Medical Group (Singapore), providing access to a network of leading Singaporean oncology specialists and enabling patients in Vietnam to benefit from more advanced and effective treatment options.

The Hy Vong Cancer Centre also actively collaborates with local and international experts to organise conferences focused on the latest advancements in cancer treatment. These initiatives aim to broaden knowledge sharing within the Vietnamese medical community, accelerate progress in oncology, and ensure that more patients across Vietnam benefit from safer, less invasive, and modern effective treatment options.

To make an appointment with Hy Vong Cancer Treatment Center, FV Hospital, please contact: (028) 35 11 33 33 – Ext: 5000