Cancer Treatment Today

IMRT is a rapidly evolving technique, which affords a more precise radiation dose delivery of escalated doses, in appropriate cases, to targeted tumors, while sparing nearby healthy tissue structures.  The FDA clearance of numerous devices for the technical delivery of IMRT is based on the capability of this technology to incorporate accurate dose calculation algorithms, associated with a verifiable dose distribution, as managed by the treating

Osteonecrosis, death of bone tissues,  is a well known complication that can occur in different bones. Osteonecrosis of the jaw is a known complication on of several medical interventions, such as radiation and biphosphonates. It had been initially described with the biphosphonate Fosomax but began to be seen more frequently with the intravenous biphosphonates, such as Zometa. Conservative treatment is successful in approximately 50% of patients

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a technique that utilizes precisely targeted radiation to a tumor while minimizing radiation to adjacent normal tissue. This targeting allows treatment of small- or moderate-sized tumors in either a single or limited number of dose fractions. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) initially was used successfully forbrain cacners and malformations, orbital, and base of skull

The rationale for post-mastectomy radiation(PMRT) is to decrease the chance that cells left behind will regrow in the remaining skin or tissue after mastectomy.  Although this is not a common complication, when it ocurrs, it can be devastating. Although the concern is understandable, post-mastectomy radiation tends to be overused in theUSA. For example, women who have stage I or II disease with spread to no more than three lymph nodes and who did

Post-mastectomy radiation tends to be overused in the USA. For example, women who have stage I or II disease with spread to no more than three lymph nodes and who did not undergo radiation therapy, have the overall locoregional recurrence rate of just 2.3% at 10 years. A 2005 meta-analysis looked at randomized trials conducted between 1964 and 1984. The analysis determined that postmastectomy radiation in these women resulted not only in about a

Prostate brachytherapy is among several roughly comparable options for front line treatment of localized prostate cancer available at this time. Unfortunately, there had not been a comparative prospective trial comparing external radiation, seed implants, brachytherapy, robotic prostatectomy, nerve sparing prostatectomy or conventional prostatectomy, proton beam radiotherapy and hormonal manipulation. Look-back reviews of past studies show these

Charged-particle beams consisting of protons or helium ions are a type of radiation therapy that uses particles which is different from conventional radiation that uses electromagnetic (i.e., photon) radiation. Particles have the unique properties of minimal scatter as the particulate beams pass through the tissue. As such, there is less “collateral damage” to the surrounding tissue and it is possible to ensure a more precise deposition of the