Every type of cancer radiation explained in 60 seconds

3D conformal radiation therapy, IMRT, VMAT, SBRT, SRS, LDR, HDR, and protons seem mysterious at first, but your intuition and your experience with light and marbles are all you need. 

What we use these techniques for:

▶️  3D conformal radiation therapy: emergencies such as spinal cord compression, treatment of anatomic sites where strategic positioning can move nearby organs out of the line of fire (e.g. breast radiation and rectal cancer radiation)

✨ IMRT/VMAT: Used for just about everything. Randomized data have proven that these techniques improve toxicity over 3D conformal radiation therapy in head and neck radiation and gynecologic cancer radiation. 

☢️ Brachytherapy:
⬇️ Low-dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy gives its dose over the course of weeks to months, so it is delivered as a permanent implant. A classic use of LDR brachytherapy is prostate brachytherapy, but more recently specialized centers are also using LDR brachytherapy for treatment of brain tumors such as glioblastoma.

⬆️ High-dose rate brachytherapy gives its dose over the course of minutes. It is administered by placing hollow needles into the body, which serve as channels through which the high-dose rate radioactive source can be positioned for those minutes. Then, the radioactive source and the needles are removed while the patient is still under anesthesia in the operating room.

➕ Protons are a great tool. Although randomized data have not shown an advantage in terms of toxicity with protons as compared to modern radiation techniques, they are a powerful option especially in cases of re-irradiation. 

#radiationoncologist #radiationtherapy #imrt #vmat #sbrt