New Delhi: Radiation oncology is a medical discipline that involves the use of high-energy radiation, such as X-rays or protons, to target and treat cancerous tumors. It is a critical component of cancer care, aiming to destroy or shrink cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Radiation oncologists work closely with a multidisciplinary team which includes a Radiation oncologist, Medical Physicist, Radiation technologist, and Nursing team along with allied workers to develop personalized treatment plans, ensuring the highest level of precision and effectiveness in delivering radiation therapy to patients. This modern technique plays a pivotal role in the comprehensive treatment of cancer, alongside surgery, chemotherapy, and other modalities, to improve patient outcomes and enhance the quality of their lives.
In an interaction with News9Live, Dr. Akanksha Anup, Associate Consultant, Radiation Oncology, Narayana Hospital, RN Tagore Hospital, Mukandapur, spoke about the evolution of radiation oncology in cancer care.
Radiation therapy – overview
Radiation therapy is primarily used for killing or shrinking the cancer cells in size. This type of treatment includes the application of high-energy beams like X-rays, proton beams, etc. The procedure is highly effective in controlling and eradicating cancer, either as a primary treatment or in combination with surgery and chemotherapy.
Radiation oncologists are specialized doctors in the field and they carefully plan the whole system so that the delivery of radiation to the tumor is maximized and exposure to healthy surrounding tissues is minimized. This is achieved through advanced imaging techniques, such as CT scans and MRI, and computer programs that calculate the precise radiation dose.
Radiation is a highly targeted therapy. When the radiation is directed at the cancer-affected cell, the DNA inside it breaks and this prevents the further growth of the cell. As a result, the cancer cell dies.
Types of Radiation Oncology
Primarily, there are two types of radiation oncology. These are as follows:
External beam radiation: This is a specific type of treatment where the source of radiation is placed outside the body and only the affected body part receives the radiation, not the whole body. What to be treated, how to be done, and how much does along with the duration everything is decided and organized by the radiation oncologist. The case history and severity of the disease also play an essential role in this aspect.
With the application of modern techniques, the advantages of modern external beam radiation have only increased. The below-mentioned techniques are used for highly precise treatment of cancer-
Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT),
Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT),
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)
This therapy is delivered in more than one session. The entire course is divided into multiple smaller doses. This may take a few days a few weeks or even a few months. This approach gives time to the surrounding healthy tissues to recover and thus minimises the risk of any damage to the normal cells.
Internal Radiation Therapy: This is also known as brachytherapy. Unlike earlier, here the radioactive source is placed directly inside the body or very close to the tumor. The procedure involves the use of radioactive wires, which are then inserted into or near the tumor site. This type of treatment ensures a highly concentrated dose of radiation to the cancerous cell, sparing the healthy tissues of the surroundings. This localized treatment helps in increasing the effectiveness of the therapy.
Brachytherapy can be either temporary or permanent, depending on the type of cancer and the stage of cancer. In temporary brachytherapy, the radioactive sources are removed from the body after a specified time, while in permanent brachytherapy the implants remain in the body.
When It Is Used?
Sometimes radiation is the only treatment a patient needs. Other times, it is combined with other cancer treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. To get the best result of the therapy, it is given before, during, or after the other treatments. The timing of when radiation therapy is given depends on the type of cancer being treated and whether the goal of radiation therapy is to treat the cancer or to ease the symptoms.
Benefits of Radiation Oncology
Radiation therapy is highly effective at destroying a significant portion of cancer cells within a tumor. It is a prime modality of therapy for many non-operable tumors including common sites of the head and neck, Lung tumors, oesophagus cancer, prostate cancer, and cervical cancers.
Radiation therapy reduces the size of tumors and renders previously inoperable tumors amenable to surgical removal.
When the treatment is combined with other methods of therapy, the effectiveness of the result is enhanced.
For many common cancers, such as breast cancer, bowel cancer, uterine cancer, skin cancer, etc. radiation therapy is highly effective in reducing the risk of cancer recurrence if the therapy is delivered either before or after surgery.
Surgical removal of body organs can be prevented by using this therapy.
For delivering advanced external beam radiation LINAC, a linear accelerator is used. This machine aims for radiation with a pinpoint accuracy that spares nearby normal tissues.
Stereotactic radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) impart highly precise and concentrated radiation to the exact location of a tumor. This technique is preferable for small-size tumors where high doses can be given with precision.
Using various imaging technologies like CT scans, IGRT helps in verifying the position of the tumor immediately before or during radiation treatment ( Onboard imaging)
Radiation therapy is primarily used for killing or shrinking the cancer cells in size. This type of treatment includes the application of high-energy beams like X-rays, proton beams, etc. The procedure is highly effective in controlling and eradicating cancer, either as a primary treatment or in combination with surgery and chemotherapy. Health News Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
