Related topics: radiation oncology
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
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with radiation treatment
Study finds way to protect healthy cells from radiation damage
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, may be hot on the heels of a Holy Grail of cancer therapy: They have found ...
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.
Open cancer surgery set to become a thing of the past
Sep 24, 2008 |
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The surgeon's knife is playing an ever smaller role in the treatment of cancer, as it is replaced by increasingly efficient and safe radiation therapy techniques. Progress in radiation technology will also lead to better ...
Stem cells alleviate tumor treatment side effects
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study.
Debate surrounds new prostate-cancer treatment
Aug 07, 2009 |
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CyberKnife radiosurgery -- which uses narrow beams of radiation to kill several types of cancer -- is marketed as a less invasive, more convenient way to treat prostate cancer, a pitch that has proved convincing for about ...
New drug aims to 'seek and destroy' many types of cancer
Oct 05, 2009 |
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A new drug designed to "seek and destroy" common cancers such as breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, ovarian, skin and testicular cancers is being tested at TGen Clinical Research Services (TCRS) at ...
Stem cells restore cognitive abilities impaired by brain tumor treatment, study finds
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study.
Delays in radiation therapy lead to increased breast cancer recurrence
Dec 01, 2008 |
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A new analysis of the National Cancer Institute's cancer registry has found that as many as one in five older women experience delayed or incomplete radiation treatment following breast-conserving surgery, and that this suboptimal ...
Blood pressure compound may benefit brain tumor patients
Medicine & Health / Medications
Feb 18, 2009 |
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A widely used blood pressure medication may be the key to preventing brain function loss common after radiation treatment, according to a newly published study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. ...
New research shows lower educational outcomes for survivors of childhood cancer
Apr 01, 2009 |
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New research funded by the Canadian Cancer Society has discovered poor educational achievement and learning difficulties for some childhood cancer survivors, especially those diagnosed with brain tumours. This first-of-its-kind ...
Wristbands ease nausea with cancer treatment
Apr 08, 2009 |
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Cancer patients who wore acupressure wristbands had much less nausea while receiving radiation treatment, making the bands a safe, low-cost addition to anti-nausea medication, according to a study published in the Journal of ...
Differences identified in treatments of of patients with second primary lung cancers versus primary lung cancer
Aug 02, 2009 |
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Patients with second primary lung cancers (SPLC), when compared to those with one primary lung cancer (OPLC), are more likely to have localized disease at the time of diagnosis and are more likely to receive surgical treatment ...
Family, friends may impact breast cancer surgery decision, study finds
Aug 31, 2009 |
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About three-quarters of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer have a friend or family member with them at their first visit with a surgeon. And that person plays a significant role in the patient's decision of what type ...
Therapeutic nanoparticles give new meaning to sugar-coating medicine
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology studying sugar-coated nanoparticles for use as a possible cancer therapy has uncovered a delicate balancing act that makes ...
Ohio wife, husband both battling breast cancer
Oct 12, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A husband and wife are both undergoing treatment for breast cancer in a case that illustrates how the disease can strike both sexes. Mike and Barbara Welsh, of Monroe, in southwestern Ohio, each had surgery this ...
