Innovations in Radiation Therapy: Targeted Treatments for Improved Outcomes

Innovations in Radiation Therapy: Targeted Treatments for Improved Outcomes

Radiation is used at low levels in X-rays to look inside your body, as in X-rays of your teeth or shattered bones. However, radiation therapy (also known as Radiotherapy) is a type of cancer treatment in which strong doses of radiation are used to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumours.

This treatment procedure, in high dosages, destroys cancer cells or slows their growth by destroying their DNA. Cancer cells that have had their DNA damaged beyond repair either cease proliferating or die. When damaged cells die, the body breaks them down and removes them. It doesn’t immediately kill cancer cells and might take days or weeks of treatment to damage DNA enough for cancer cells to die. The affected cancer cells then continue to die for weeks/months after the radiation therapy is finished. To receive the best radiation therapy in Bangalore, visit Apollo Hospitals.

However, with the advancement of technology, there have been rapid improvements in the field of radiation therapy. Let’s discuss it in more detail.

Types of Radiation Therapy

There are two types of radiation therapy used by the radiation oncologist in Bangalore-

• External Beam Radiation Therapy – Radiation oncologist uses EBRT, which is delivered by a machine that directs radiation toward your cancer. The machine is enormous and perhaps noisy. It does not touch you, but it can travel around you, transmitting radiation to various parts of your body. It is a localised type of treatment, meaning it only affects one portion of your body. For example, if you have lung cancer, you will just receive radiation to your chest, not your entire body.
• Internal Radiation Therapy is a treatment option in which a radiation source is implanted into your body. Radiation sources can be either solid or liquid. This method of treatment involves implanting seeds, ribbons, or capsules containing a radiation source in or around the tumour. Brachytherapy, like external beam radiation therapy, is a type of local treatment that exclusively targets a specific area of your body.

Innovations in Radiation Therapy for Cancer Treatment

Below are a few innovations in Radiation Therapy that improved the outcomes of targeted treatments-

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) is a type of radiation therapy in which a tumour is accurately dosed with radiation using specialised equipment. The goal of SBRT is to use the maximum feasible dose of radiation to eliminate cancer while causing the least amount of damage to surrounding tissues and organs. SBRT is used to treat Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), and cancers that have progressed to the lungs or other regions of the body.

SBRT involves the delivery of numerous high-dose radiation beams at various angles to eliminate the targeted tumour. People with well-defined, tiny tumours who are unable to undergo traditional surgery are the greatest candidates for SBRT. It is typically used to treat tiny primary (original) tumours, but it is also being investigated for patients having Oligometastases (a limited number of metastatic tumours).

IMRT, Along with Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH)

Radiation therapy, including IMRT, destroys the DNA and prevents cancer cells from dividing and developing, resulting in tumour growth that is slowed or stopped. Radiation therapy is capable of killing all cancer cells in many situations, reducing or eradicating tumours. Adjuvant radiation treatment is when radiation therapy is performed in conjunction with surgery. After surgery, radiation is used to target potential microscopic diseases in this circumstance.

Intensity-modulated radiation treatment (IMRT) is a high-precision radiotherapy technique using computer-controlled linear accelerators to deliver exact radiation doses to a malignant tumour or particular locations inside the tumour. By controlling/modulating the intensity of the radiation beam in many tiny compartments, IMRT allows the radiation dose to adapt more accurately to the three-dimensional (3-D) structure of the tumour.

To treat breast cancer, the radiation therapy team at Apollo Hospitals, Karnataka – the best radiotherapy hospitals in Bangalore employs prone breast positioning, in which the patient rests on her stomach, and the breast hangs into space, falling away from the body, to protect the heart & lungs from radiation. For patients who must be treated while lying on their backs, the team used Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH), in which the patient temporarily holds her breath on cue. The heart is pushed down and back, further away from the area being radiated, while the lungs expand. This necessitates the use of a sophisticated digital camera system to pinpoint the exact location of the corpse at any given time.

At Apollo Hospitals, Karnataka, we have the best radiotherapy doctor in Bangalore, who takes proper care and focuses on the overall well-being emphasising the trust of the patients.