What is a large dose of radiation treatment?
This is a radiation treatment in which the total dose of radiation is divided into large doses, and treatments are given less than once a day. Typical doses vary significantly by cancer type, from 3Gy/fraction to 20Gy/fraction.
What are the two types of radiation therapy?
Types of Radiation Therapy There are two main types of radiation therapy: externalbeam radiation(teletherapy) and internal radiation therapy(brachytherapy). External Beam Radiation Therapy (Teletherapy)
What are the most common materials used in radiation therapy?
Photons and electrons are the most readily available and most commonly used. Protons are available at some cancer centers in the US and other countries, with new proton therapy centers being built or in the planning stages.
Can radiation therapy be used with other treatments?
How Radiation Is Used with Other Cancer Treatments. But, most often, you will have radiation therapy with other cancer treatments, such as surgery , chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Radiation therapy may be given before, during, or after these other treatments to improve the chances that treatment will work.
What are the two types of radiation therapy?
Types of Radiation Therapy. There are two primary types of radiation therapy: external radiation and internal radiation.
What is internal radiation called?
This type of radiation therapy is offered only for certain gynecological and prostate cancers. When giving internal radiation, called brachytherapy , your doctor positions small catheters or applicators in the treatment area to deliver radiation to where the cancer is.
Does radiation therapy make you radioactive?
This treatment, also called external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), does not make you radioactive. You can safely be around other people, including children. External beam radiation is the most common approach to radiation treatment. It is produced by machines called linear accelerators.
What are the types of radiation used in medical treatment?
Radiation therapy can be classified according to the types of radiation particles or waves that are used to deliver the treatment, such as photons, electrons, or protons. Photons and electrons are the most readily available and most commonly used.
What are the different types of radiation?
Photons can be used in a few different types of radiation therapy, such as: 1 Conventional radiation therapy. 2 3D conformal radiation therapy. 3 Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). 4 Stereotactic radiation therapy, also known as radiosurgery, GammaKnife, CyberKnife, or SBRT. 5 Brachytherapy. 6 Orthovoltage radiation therapy. 7 Volumetric modulated arc therapy (also known as RapidArc).
How does orthovoltage work?
Orthovoltage was often used before linear accelerators became available for the treatment of many different tumors. Orthovoltage radiation uses lower energy photons to treat tumors, which are located on the skin or very close to the skin. The lower energy of orthovoltage beams doesn’t work well for deep tumors compared to the higher energy beams available today with most linacs. However, orthovoltage treatment can be very effective for some skin tumors and other superficial lesions. Orthovoltage units are becoming rare, as many of the treatments that were done previously by orthovoltage units are now treated with electrons.
Why is IMRT used in cancer?
For example, if a tumor is close to or wrapped around a normal organ, IMRT can shape the radiation to avoid as much of the healthy tissue as possible. This is why IMRT is often used in cancers of the head and neck where many critical areas, such as the spinal cord, must be avoided.
What type of radiation is used in photons?
Photons can be used in a few different types of radiation therapy, such as: Conventional radiation therapy. 3D conformal radiation therapy. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Stereotactic radiation therapy, also known as radiosurgery, GammaKnife, CyberKnife, or SBRT. Brachytherapy.
How are X-rays used in radiation therapy?
When 2D, or conventional radiation therapy is used, X-ray films are used to guide and position the radiation beams. A machine called a “fluoroscopic simulator” is often used to plan the radiation treatments. The bones seen on the X-ray are used as landmarks to find where the tumor is and where to position the radiation beams in order to treat the tumor, while avoiding areas where there is no cancer. Planning does not take a long time and patients can usually start treatment quickly, compared to other kinds of radiation therapy that need more in-depth (and time consuming) planning. This type of treatment is often used for urgent treatments.
What is external radiation therapy?
External radiation therapy: a beam of radiation is directed into the body. This may also be called x-ray therapy, 3D conformal radiation, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), cobalt, photon, or proton therapy.
What are the two types of radiation?
There are two main types of radiation therapy, external beam and internal . The type of radiation therapy that you may have depends on many factors, including: The type of cancer. The size of the tumor. The tumor’s location in the body. How close the tumor is to normal tissues that are sensitive to radiation.
What is intraoperative radiation therapy?
During surgery, so that it goes straight to the cancer without passing through the skin. Radiation therapy used this way is called intraoperative radiation.
How does radiation help cancer?
When radiation is combined with surgery, it can be given: 1 Before surgery, to shrink the size of the cancer so it can be removed by surgery and be less likely to return. 2 During surgery, so that it goes straight to the cancer without passing through the skin. Radiation therapy used this way is called intraoperative radiation. With this technique, doctors can more easily protect nearby normal tissues from radiation. 3 After surgery to kill any cancer cells that remain.
What is brachytherapy with liquid source?
Learn more about brachytherapy. Internal radiation therapy with a liquid source is called systemic therapy. Systemic means that the treatment travels in the blood to tissues throughout your body, seeking out and killing cancer cells.
What is the best radiation treatment for thyroid cancer?
A systemic radiation therapy called radioactive iodine, or I-131, is most often used to treat certain types of thyroid cancer.
What is the treatment for cancer that has spread to the bone called?
Pain from cancer that has spread to the bone can be treated with systemic radiation therapy drugs called radiopharmaceuticals.
Why do people with cancer need radiation?
Why People with Cancer Receive Radiation Therapy. Radiation therapy is used to treat cancer and ease cancer symptoms . When used to treat cancer, radiation therapy can cure cancer, prevent it from returning, or stop or slow its growth. When treatments are used to ease symptoms, they are known as palliative treatments.
Why do tumors need fractionation?
Fractionation also allows tumor cells that were in a relatively radio-resistant phase of the cell cycle during one treatment to cycle into a sensitive phase of the cycle before the next fraction is given.
Why is photon RT fractionated?
The total dose is fractionated (spread out over time) for several important reasons. Fraction ation allows normal cells time to recover, while tumor cells are generally less efficient in repair between fractions.
How often is APBI given?
APBI can be performed with either brachytherapy or with external beam radiation. APBI normally involves two high-dose fractions per day for five days, compared to whole breast irradiation, in which a single, smaller fraction is given five times a week over a six-to-seven-week period.
How many Gy is fractionation?
In North America, Australia, and Europe, the typical fractionation schedule for adults is 1.8 to 2 Gy per day, five days a week . In some cancer types, prolongation of the fraction schedule over too long can allow for ...
What is fractionation schedule?
One fractionation schedule that is currently being heavily studied is hypofractionation. This is a radiation treatment in which the total dose of radiation is divided into large doses, and treatments are given less than once a day. Typical doses vary significantly by cancer type, from 3Gy/fraction to 20Gy/fraction.
Can you prolong the fraction schedule?
In some cancer types, prolongation of the fraction schedule over too long can allow for the tumor to begin repopulating, and for these tumor types, including head-and-neck and cervical squamous cell cancers, radiation treatment is preferably completed within a certain amount of time.
What is the unit used to measure the total amount of radiation that the patient is exposed to?
Gray (Gy) is the unit used to measure the total amount of radiation that the patient is exposed to. This can also be recorded as centigray (cGy), which is 0.01 of a single Gy unit.
How long does radiation therapy last?
Standard treatment with radiation therapy lasts for five to eight weeks, depending on the specific type of cancer being treated, and is at the discretion of the oncologist supervising the therapy.
Why is radiation therapy important?
By Yolanda Smith, B.Pharm. Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. When radiation therapy is used to kill cancerous cells in the body , it is important to measure the dose correctly to avoid unnecessary damage to normal cells in the body. Radiation is not selective to tumor cells and therefore targets any cells that are in the process ...
Why is patient positioning important during radiation treatment?
The exact position of the patient during the radiation treatment is of utmost importance to ensure that the correct dose of radiation is emitted to the intended area of the body. It is common practice for skin to be marked to indicate where the treatment should be focused.
Why do you need a mold for radiation?
Additionally, areas of the body that do not contain tumor cells should be subjected to as little radiation as possible, often necessitating blocks or shields to protect other parts of the body .
Is radiation selective to tumor cells?
Radiation is not selective to tumor cells and therefore targets any cells that are in the process of replication when the therapy is applied. This thereby stresses the importance of administering the correct dose in order to ensure optimal efficiency with minimal side effects. Image Credit: Roman Zaiets / Shutterstock.com.
What is a comprehensive record in radiation oncology?
A comprehensive record in radiation oncology may include all medical and administrative aspects of the patient's experience with the radiation treatment center: schedules, communications from referring physicians and external diagnostic facilities, and reimbursement information. 4.
What is a bolus in radiation?
In radiation therapy, bolus refers to material whose interactions with the radiation beam mimic those of tissue. The purpose of a bolus is to compensate for variation in surface contour or to eliminate air gaps in cavities. Thus, it brings the area of maximum dose deposition to the patient's surface. p. 169.
What is a 60 degree universal wedge?
One system uses a 60-degree universal wedge. Other systems use a virtual wedge system in which a dynamic, or moving, jaw starts at one side of the field and opens to a full field over the course of dose delivery. p. 170. 23.