Radiation therapy or radiotherapy is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle accelerator. Radiation therapy may be curative in a number of types of cancer if they are localized to one area of the body, and have not spread to other parts. It may also be used as part of adjuvant therapy, to prevent tumor recurrence after surgery to remove a primary malignant tumor. Radiation therapy is synergistic with chemotherapy, and has been used before, during, and after chemotherapy in susceptible cancers. The subspecialty of oncology concerned with radiotherapy is called radiation oncology. A physician who practices in this subspecialty is a radiation oncologist.
A radiation oncologist is a specialist physician who uses ionizing radiation in the treatment of cancer. Radiation oncology is one of the three primary specialties, the other two being surgical and medical oncology, involved in the treatment of cancer. Radiation can be given as a curative modality, either alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. It may also be used palliatively, to relieve symptoms in patients with incurable cancers. A radiation oncologist may also use radiation to treat some benign diseases, including benign tumors. In some countries, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are controlled by a single oncologist who is a "clinical oncologist". Radiation oncologists work closely with other physicians such as surgical oncologists, interventional radiologists, internal medicine subspecialists, and medical oncologists, as well as medical physicists and technicians as part of the multi-disciplinary cancer team. Radiation oncologists undergo four years of oncology-specific training whereas oncologists who deliver chemotherapy have two years of additional training in cancer care during fellowship after internal medicine residency in the United States.
Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. Brachy is Greek for short. Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, prostate, breast, esophageal and skin cancer and can also be used to treat tumours in many other body sites. Treatment results have demonstrated that the cancer-cure rates of brachytherapy are either comparable to surgery and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or are improved when used in combination with these techniques. Brachytherapy can be used alone or in combination with other therapies such as surgery, EBRT and chemotherapy.
In medicine, proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often to treat cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other types of external beam radiotherapy is that the dose of protons is deposited over a narrow range of depth; hence in minimal entry, exit, or scattered radiation dose to healthy nearby tissues.
Surgical oncology is the branch of surgery applied to oncology; it focuses on the surgical management of tumors, especially cancerous tumors.
The sentinel lymph node is the hypothetical first lymph node or group of nodes draining a cancer. In case of established cancerous dissemination it is postulated that the sentinel lymph nodes are the target organs primarily reached by metastasizing cancer cells from the tumor.
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is a unique pan-European non-profit clinical cancer research organisation established in 1962 operating as an international association under Belgium law. It develops, conducts, coordinates and stimulates high-quality translational and clinical trial research to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. This is achieved through the development of new drugs and other innovative approaches, and the testing of more effective therapeutic strategies, using currently approved drugs, surgery and/or radiotherapy in clinical trials conducted under the auspices of a vast network of clinical cancer researchers supported by 220 staff members based in Brussels. The EORTC has the expertise to conduct large and complex trials especially specific populations such as the older patient and rare tumours.
The Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) at Thiruvananthapuram is a cancer care hospital and research centre. RCC was established in 1981 by the Government of Kerala and the Government of India. It is located in the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College campus in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala. It was established as an expansion of the Radiation Therapy / Radiotherapy department of Medical College Trivandrum. It is a tertiary care center for the managements of all types of cancers. The clinics are mainly on Haematology, Lymphoreticular, soft tissue, bone, head and neck, breast, CNS, gynaecological, urinary, chest, gastro, paediatric oncology and thyroid.
Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is radiation therapy that is administered during surgery directly in the operating room.
Intraoperative electron radiation therapy is the application of electron radiation directly to the residual tumor or tumor bed during cancer surgery. Electron beams are useful for intraoperative radiation treatment because, depending on the electron energy, the dose falls off rapidly behind the target site, therefore sparing underlying healthy tissue.
Breast cancer management takes different approaches depending on physical and biological characteristics of the disease, as well as the age, over-all health and personal preferences of the patient. Treatment types can be classified into local therapy and systemic treatment. Local therapy is most efficacious in early stage breast cancer, while systemic therapy is generally justified in advanced and metastatic disease, or in diseases with specific phenotypes.
Breast-conserving surgery refers to an operation that aims to remove breast cancer while avoiding a mastectomy. Different forms of this operation include: lumpectomy (tylectomy), wide local excision, segmental resection, and quadrantectomy. Breast-conserving surgery has been increasingly accepted as an alternative to mastectomy in specific patients, as it provides tumor removal while maintaining an acceptable cosmetic outcome. This page reviews the history of this operation, important considerations in decision making and patient selection, and the emerging field of oncoplastic breast conservation surgery.
Targeted intra-operative radiotherapy, also known as targeted IORT, is a technique of giving radiotherapy to the tissues surrounding a cancer after its surgical removal, a form of intraoperative radiation therapy. The technique was designed in 1998 at the University College London.
National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital (NICRH) is dedicated to cancer patient management, education and research. This is the only tertiary level center of the country engaged in multidisciplinary cancer patient management. It started its activity in a tin-shade building of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital in 1982, soon it is shifted to the present location at Mohakhali in 1986. According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Health and the Rotary Club of Dhaka the latter built the Rotary Cancer Detection Unit (RCDU) and the Cancer Institute started working as an outdoor cancer detection unit only. In 1991, 50 bed indoor facilities incorporated. In 1994 the cancer institute renamed as National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital (NICRH) and the first radiation treatment was applied to a patient in 1995 with a Cobalt 60 Teletherapy machine. With the provision of support from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), the up-gradation works of this Institute to 300 bedded Center has been completed. In April 2015 it was upgraded to a 300-bed hospital. In 2019 the Health Minister Jahid Maleque M.P. consented to convert NICRH as a 500-bed hospital and the work is almost completed.
The abscopal effect is a hypothesis in the treatment of metastatic cancer whereby shrinkage of untreated tumors occurs concurrently with shrinkage of tumors within the scope of the localized treatment. R.H. Mole proposed the term "abscopal" in 1953 to refer to effects of ionizing radiation "at a distance from the irradiated volume but within the same organism".
Rajendra Achyut Badwe, is an Indian medical doctor and surgical oncologist. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2013, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of medicine. He is the former Director of Tata Memorial Centre, succeeded by Sudeep Gupta
Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) is a not-for-profit, 245-bed, all-private-room facility in Mount Kisco, New York. Founded in 1916, it serves residents of Northern Westchester, Putnam County and southern Dutchess County, as well as parts of Fairfield County, Connecticut. It is owned by Northwell Health.
Eleanor D. Montague was an American radiologist and educator who established breast-conserving therapy in the United States and improved radiation therapy techniques. She became a member of the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.
Sandeep Nayak is an Indian surgical oncologist based in Bangalore, India, known as the pioneer of robotic thyroidectomy technique called RABIT and Minimally Invasive Neck Dissection. He is the founder of MACS Clinic, Bangalore. He is the Senior Director and the Head of Department of surgical oncology at Fortis Hospital, Bangalore. Nayak was recipient of the KS International Innovation Award for his technique of RIA-MIND and Times Health Excellence Award for 2018 by The Times of India. Nayak is the member of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and American Society of Clinical Oncology. He has previously held the position of the assistant professor at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology from 2012 to 2017.
Jeffrey S. Tobias is a British professor of oncology at University College, London, and co-author of Cancer and its Management and Informed Consent in Medical Research. He is on the board at Cancer Research UK, and is a former president of the British Association for Head and Neck Oncology.
