Radiation therapy
hideRadiation therapy (also radiotherapy or radiation oncology, sometimes abbreviated to XRT) is the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells (not to be confused with radiology, the use of radiation in medical imaging and diagnosis). Radiotherapy may be used for curative or adjuvant cancer treatment. It is used as palliative treatment (where cure is not possible and the aim is for local disease control or symptomatic relief) or as therapeutic treatment (where the therapy has survival benefit and it can be curative). Total body irradiation (TBI) is a radiotherapy technique used to prepare the body to receive a bone marrow transplant. Radiotherapy has several applications in non-malignant conditions, such as the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, severe thyroid eye disease, pterygium, pigmented villonodular synovitis, prevention of keloid scar growth, and prevention of heterotopic ossification. The use of radiotherapy in non-malignant conditions is limited partly by worries about the risk of radiation-induced cancers.
Radiotherapy is used for the treatment of malignant tumors (cancer), and may be used as the primary therapy. It is also common to combine radiotherapy with surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy or some mixture of the three. Most common cancer types can be treated with radiotherapy in some way. The precise treatment intent (curative, adjuvant, neoadjuvant, therapeutic, or palliative) will depend on the tumour type, location, and stage, as well as the general health of the patient.
Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumour. The radiation fields may also include the draining lymph nodes if they are clinically or radiologically involved with tumour, or if there is thought to be a risk of subclinical malignant spread. It is necessary to include a margin of normal tissue around the tumour to allow for uncertainties in daily set-up and internal tumor motion. These uncertainties can be caused by internal movement (for example, respiration and bladder filling) and movement of external skin marks relative to the tumour position.
To spare normal tissues (such as skin or organs which radiation must pass through in order to treat the tumour), shaped radiation beams are aimed from several angles of exposure to intersect at the tumour, providing a much larger absorbed dose there than in the surrounding, healthy tissue.
For more information about Radiation therapy, read the full article at
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News tagged with radiation therapy
Tumor-attacking virus strikes with 'one-two punch'
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Ohio State University cancer researchers have developed a tumor-attacking virus that both kills brain-tumor cells and blocks the growth of new tumor blood vessels.
New cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Nov 22, 2009 |
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Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, ...
Detecting the Undetectable in Prostate Cancer Testing
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Northwestern University researchers, using an extremely sensitive nanotechnology-based tool known as the biobarcode system, has detected previously undetectable levels of prostate-specific antigen ...
New experiment could reveal make-up of the Universe
Aug 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of Liverpool are constructing highly sensitive detectors as part of an international project to understand the elements that make up the universe.
Breakthrough in radiotherapy promises targeted cancer treatment
May 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Current radiation therapy treatment damages a patient's healthy tissue as well as eradicating the tumour it is intended to destroy, making the treatment especially invasive and often causing nasty side effects.
Chemo-radiation before prostate removal may prevent cancer recurrence
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have found a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is ...
DNA test could be key to targeting treatments for head and neck cancer
Oct 05, 2009 |
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It is estimated that more than 7,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year in the UK and approximately 3,500 cases result in death. These cancers include tumours of the mouth, lips, throat and voice-box, ...
Remote-control closed system invented for inserting radio-active atoms inside fullerenes
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Jul 07, 2009 |
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Virginia Tech chemistry Professor Harry C. Dorn, Emory and Henry College chemistry Professor James Duchamp, and Panos Fatouros, professor and chair of the Division of Radiation Physics and Biology at the Virginia ...
Researchers identify critical marker of response to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer
Jun 04, 2009 |
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A protein related to aggressive cancers can actually improve the efficacy of gemcitabine at treating pancreatic cancer, according to a Priority Report in Cancer Research, published by researchers at Thomas Jefferson Univer ...
Immunotherapy effective against neuroblastoma in children
May 14, 2009 |
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A phase III study has shown that adding an antibody-based therapy that harnesses the body's immune system resulted in a 20 percent increase in the number of children living disease-free for at least two years with neuroblastoma. ...
From cars to cancer: Researcher employs auto industry tools for tumor therapy
May 06, 2009 |
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An effort is under way at the University of Houston to use technologies with origins in the automobile industry to develop new tools that will help doctors and technicians better plan radiation therapy for ...
Selected men with low-risk prostate cancer have good clinical outcomes without immediate treatment
Mar 16, 2009 |
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A multi-center study of prostate cancer patients appearing in today's Journal of Urology recommends that for some men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, opting not to initially receive treatment can be safe if they a ...
Breast cancer treatment offers better outcome to women with implants
Dec 01, 2008 |
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Women with early-stage breast cancer who have undergone breast augmentation may be treated successfully with a partial-breast radiation treatment called brachytherapy, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting ...
Type of breast reconstruction impacts radiation therapy outcomes
Nov 20, 2008 |
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For breast cancer patients who underwent a mastectomy who undergo radiation therapy after immediate breast reconstruction, autologous tissue reconstruction provides fewer long-term complications and better cosmetic results ...
Study shows radiation device may customize therapy, enable some to avoid more lengthy treatment
Sep 25, 2008 |
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A study of the first approximately 100 patients who have received partial breast irradiation with a small, whisk-like, expandable device inserted inside the breast has shown that after one year, the device ...
