Treatment Processes and
Effectiveness
"The goal of radiation therapy is
to maximize the therapeutic ratio; to maximize the
delivered dose to the target (tumor) and minimize
dose to the normal tissue."
3 Different types of therapy
given:
The type of
radiation given is dependent on the type of
cancer the patient has.
When a machine outside the body directs
high-energy toward the part of the body intended
to undergo treatment.
When a
radioactive source is put inside the body into or
near the tumor. (Also called brachytherapy)
When radioactive
drugs are given by mouth or put into a vein to
travel throughout the body.
Gamma and x-ray therapy are
types of photon therapy.
Electron and proton beam therapies
are exactly what they sound like, they use
electron or proton beams (respectively) instead of
the gamma or x-ray photons.
- Electron-beam radiation
cannot travel very far through tissue, so they
are often more useful for skin cancers.
- Proton therapy uses a
machine called a synchrotron or cyclotron to
speed up protons to create higher energy, then
they are targeted to the radiation target.
Proton therapy appears to be able to go through
tissue just as easily as x-ray therapy, but has
less radiation dosage.
A Few Studies on Effectiveness:
- A study from 2010-2013 of 65
women with breast cancer, after undergoing a
lumpectomy and whole breast irradiation
- Results: "a second
breast conservation was achievable in 90%,
with a low risk of re-recurrence of cancer in
the ipsilateral breast using adjuvant partial
breast re-irradiation."
- Conclusion:
"This finding suggests that this treatment
approach is an effective alternative to
mastectomy."
- A study examining "the impact of
brachytherapy boost (BB) and external beam
radiotherapy (EBRT) dose-escalation on overall
survival (OS) for women with cervical cancer
receiving postoperative chemotherapy and
radiation (CRT) for a positive margin following
hysterectomy."
- Results: 630
women who received CRT, 53% received EBRT
alone and 47% received EBRT+BB, and 82% of
those 630 women "had chemotherapy initiation
within 2 weeks of radiation, suggesting
concurrent delivery."
- Conclusion: "The
addition of BB to standard CRT improved OS for
women with cervical cancer and a positive
margin after hysterectomy. No consistent
survival benefit was seen to EBRT
dose-escalation beyond 5040 cGy."
- A Mayo Clinic study evaluating
the benefit of radiation therapy on cutaneous
T-cell Lymphoma
- Results: "Skin-directed
radiation therapy demonstrated 99% response
rate and 80% complete response rate after
treatment regardless of involvement, severity,
histopathologic sub-type, dose, or
fractionation."
- Conclusion:
"Radiation therapy is a well-tolerated
treatment option for properly selected
patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma."
