MEDRADSC 2AA3 - Lecture 7.1.1 - The Basics in Radiation Therapy

radiation therapy

treatment of cancer using therapeutic radiation, localized

what is radiationtherapy commonly used in conjunction with to treat cancer?

surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy

how does radiation kill cells?

direct damage to DNA or indirect damage through free radical formation

what are the two main goals of radiation therapy?

to deliver a tumouricidal dose and to minimize normal tissue damage

to reduce detriment to normal tissues, radiation doses are __________.

fractionated

what are the two types of radiation therapy?

external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy

what are some new applications being used to treat cancer in the body?

targeted therapy and immunotherapy

iodine-131 thyroid treatment

a form of treatment in which the radiotracer iodine-131 is used to treat thyroid cancer

radioimmunotherapy and targeted alpha therapy

methods of cancer treatment in which a radiotracer is attached to antibodies to kill cancer cells

external beam radiation therapy (EBRT)

aka teletherapy, radiation is electronically produced and delivered through a linac, radiation travels through healthy tissues to treat tumour

brachytherapy

the use of radioactive isotopes which are placed interstitially or intracavity to treat cancer

what are the three types of brachytherapy in terms of dose delivery?

high-dose rate, low-dose rate and permanent implantation

high-dose rate brachytherapy

treatment usually is 5-10 minutes over a span of 4-5 days due to faster decay

low-dose rate brachytherapy

treatment usually is left in the patient for 4-5 days, due to slow decay

permanent implantation brachytherapy

radioactive isotope is left permanently implanted and slowly decays to attack tumour cells