"The treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy, to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells."
Discusses the use of radiation in cancer treatment, including the types of radiation used, mechanisms of action and side effects.
Atomic structure: The composition and properties of atoms, including subatomic particles and their behavior.
Radiation physics: The principles of ionizing radiation and its interactions with matter, as well as the properties of different types of radiation.
Radioactive decay: The different types of radioactive decay, the properties of radioactive isotopes, and their decay schemes.
Radiobiology: The effects of ionizing radiation on living tissue, including molecular and cellular damage and biological responses.
Radiation measurement: The methods and devices used to measure radiation exposure, including dosimeters, detectors, and monitors.
Radiation safety: The measures and protocols used to ensure the safe use of ionizing radiation in medical and industrial settings, including the principles of ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable).
Treatment planning: The process of selecting appropriate radiation therapy regimens based on patient-specific factors, including tumor size, location, and other clinical factors.
Radiation therapy techniques: The different types of radiation therapy techniques, including external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, and stereotactic radiation therapy.
Image-guided radiation therapy: The use of imaging techniques such as CT scans, MRI, and PET scans to guide radiation therapy delivery.
Radiation oncology: The practice of treating cancer with radiation therapy, including the principles and techniques of radiation therapy for different types of cancer.
External beam radiation therapy: In this type of therapy, radiation is delivered to the patient from a machine outside the body. This is the most common type of radiation therapy.
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): This is a type of external beam radiation therapy that uses computer-controlled radiation beams to target the tumor more precisely. This reduces the amount of radiation that normal tissue receives.
Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT): This type of therapy uses imaging technology such as X-rays, MRI, or CT scans to guide the radiation beams to the tumor location.
Stereotactic radiosurgery: This is a type of radiation therapy used to treat small tumors in the brain or other parts of the body. A focused beam of radiation is directed at the tumor from multiple angles, delivering a high dose of radiation to the tumor while limiting the amount of radiation to surrounding normal tissue.
Brachytherapy: This type of therapy involves placing radioactive seeds or sources directly into the body tissue to deliver radiation to the tumor. It is commonly used to treat prostate cancer.
Proton therapy: This type of radiation therapy uses high-energy protons to treat cancer cells. The radiation beams are more precise than with traditional radiation therapy, reducing the amount of radiation to surrounding healthy tissue.
Carbon ion therapy: This is a type of particle therapy that uses carbon ions instead of protons. It is still an experimental therapy and is not widely available.
Neutron therapy: This is also an experimental type of radiation therapy that uses neutrons to treat cancer cells. It is only available at a few specialized centers.
Radioimmunotherapy: This is a type of therapy in which a radioactive substance is attached to an antibody that targets cancer cells. The radioactive substance then delivers radiation directly to the cancer cells.
"It is normally delivered by a linear particle accelerator."
"Radiation therapy may be curative in a number of types of cancer if they are localized to one area of the body and have not spread to other parts."
"It may also be used as part of adjuvant therapy, to prevent tumor recurrence after surgery to remove a primary malignant tumor."
"Ionizing radiation works by damaging the DNA of cancerous tissue leading to cellular death."
"To spare normal tissues... shaped radiation beams are aimed from several angles of exposure to intersect at the tumor, providing a much larger absorbed dose there than in the surrounding healthy tissue."
"The radiation fields may also include the draining lymph nodes if they are clinically or radiologically involved with the tumor, or if there is thought to be a risk of subclinical malignant spread."
"These uncertainties can be caused by internal movement (for example, respiration, and bladder filling) and movement of external skin marks relative to the tumor position."
"Radiation oncology is the medical specialty concerned with prescribing radiation, and is distinct from radiology, the use of radiation in medical imaging and diagnosis."
"It is also common to combine radiation therapy with surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy or some mixture of the four."
"The precise treatment intent (curative, adjuvant, neoadjuvant therapeutic, or palliative) will depend on the tumor type, location, and stage, as well as the general health of the patient."
"Total body irradiation (TBI) is a radiation therapy technique used to prepare the body to receive a bone marrow transplant."
"Brachytherapy, in which a radioactive source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment, is another form of radiation therapy that minimizes exposure to healthy tissue during procedures to treat cancers of the breast, prostate, and other organs."
"Radiation therapy has several applications in non-malignant conditions."
"The treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, acoustic neuromas, severe thyroid eye disease, pterygium, pigmented villonodular synovitis, and prevention of keloid scar growth, vascular restenosis, and heterotopic ossification."
"The use of radiation therapy in non-malignant conditions is limited partly by worries about the risk of radiation-induced cancers."
"The subspecialty of oncology concerned with radiotherapy is called radiation oncology."
"A physician who practices in this subspecialty is a radiation oncologist."
"Radiation therapy is synergistic with chemotherapy, and has been used before, during, and after chemotherapy in susceptible cancers."
"Most common cancer types can be treated with radiation therapy in some way."