Radiotherapy is directed to the site of the primary lesion as well as to the lymph node bearing region in the groin and pelvis. The treatment is delivered over 6 -7 weeks and is usually combined with chemotherapy.
Treatment may be administered using either photon-based radiation in a RadixactTomotherapy unit or protons on the Proteus Plus treatment unit. The aim of these modern radiation techniques is to spare as much normal tissue as possible to reduce side effects. Sparing the intestines reduces the risk of diarrhoea in the short term and narrowing of the bowel and malabsorption in the long run. Similarly, reducing the bone marrow dose reduces the risk of developing low counts and improves the chances that a full dose of chemotherapy; this is especially relevant in elderly women. Proton therapy is able to spare these normal structures much more effectively than X-ray-based techniques and this is expected to reduce the probability of side effects and improve the tolerability of treatment.