At this day in age we are constantly trying to improve the field of medicine in any way that we possibly can. We cherish every birthday and continually try to prolong life. Not only through every field of medicine, especially in terms of cancer. The American Cancer Society is “the official sponsor of birthdays” and is making leaps and bounds in the types of care that cancer patients receive. One of these many breakthroughs is the practice of Stereotactic (Body) Radiotherapy or S(B)RT. SBRT and other radiation therapies have the ability to greatly improve the way that we treat the issue of cancer and the variation of treatment options; however, they have raised the concerns of long term effects from radiation and cost-effectiveness. As research has begun to show, radiation therapies are having great success in curing cancer.
There are essentially three main types of cancer treatments; surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Surgery allows doctors to effectively remove tumors from a clear plane. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat the tumor; but often the drugs affect other healthy cells in the process. Using radiation as a treatment can be either precise or vague. Many health stigmas can come from the vague forms of radiation or conventional radiation therapy. Conventional radiation treats both the unhealthy and healthy cells, therefore exposing healthy cells to harmful radiation (Radiation Oncology, 2011, p.6). When healthy cells are exposed to gamma radiation they are also exposed to ionizing radiation. The ionization can cause “breakage of chemical bonds or oxidization (addition of oxygen atoms)” in a cell; the main impact of this is on a cell’s DNA, if two strands of DNA break it can result in “mutations, chromosome aberrations, ...
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Johns Hopkins University. (n.d.). Stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy. In Treatments. Retrieved from http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/radiation_oncology/treatments/stereotactic_radiosurgery_body_radiation_therapy.html
Radiation Effects Research Foundation. (2007). How radiation affects cells. In Basics About Radiation. Retrieved from http://www.rerf.jp/radfx/basickno_e/radcell.htm
Radiation Oncology Centers. (2011). Stereotactic body radiation therapy. In Procedures. Retrieved from http://www.rasradiationoncology.com/radiation_oncology/stereotactic-body-radiation-therapy
Yale School of Medicine. (2014). Stereotactic radiosurgery/ gamma knife program. In Therapeutic Radiology. Retrieved from http://radonc.yale.edu/clinical/gamma.aspx
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The current standard of therapy is resection of the tumor plus radiotherapy and TMZ (E5). Multiple studies performed between 1976 and 1991 have led postoperative radiotherapy to be accepted as standard treatment (L12). The universal dosing schedule for radiotherapy in GBM is fractionated irradiation over 6-7 weeks for a total of 60 gray (Gy) (G7,M13). TMZ is an oral alkylating agent that can be used concomitant with radiotherapy and as an adjuvant. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) organized a study showing that adding TMZ to standard radiotherapy is beneficial to overall survival. This study enrolled 573 patients from 85 institutions and randomly assigned eligible patients to receive either standard radiotherapy alone or radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant TMZ. There was a 37% decrease in relative risk of death and a median increase in survival of 2.5 months in patients treated with TMZ and radiotherapy when compared to radiotherapy alone (P<0.001). There are adverse effects with both RT and chemotherapy, but hematologic toxicities are more likely to occur in patients treated with both TMZ and RT (M13). This study maintained its validity after accounting for recursive partitioning analysis classifications (L12). The current standard dose of TMZ is 75 mg per square meter of body surface area daily during radiotherapy and then a dose of 150-200 mg per square meter of body surface area for 5 days of each 28-day cycle following RT (G7,M13).
The role of the radiologist is one that has undergone numerous changes over the years and continues to evolve a rapid pace. Radiologists specialize in the diagnoses of disease through obtaining and interpreting medical images. There are a number of different devices and procedures at the disposal of a radiologist to aid him or her in these diagnoses’. Some images are obtained by using x-ray or other radioactive substances, others through the use of sound waves and the body’s natural magnetism. Another sector of radiology focuses on the treatment of certain diseases using radiation (RSNA). Due to vast clinical work and correlated studies, the radiologist may additionally sub-specialize in various areas. Some of these sub-specialties include breast imaging, cardiovascular, Computed Tomography (CT), diagnostic radiology, emergency, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), musculoskeletal, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, pediatric radiology, radiobiology, and Ultrasound (Schenter). After spending a vast amount of time on research and going to internship at the hospital, I have come to realize that my passion in science has greatly intensified. Furthermore, both experiences helped to shape up my future goals more prominently than before, which is coupled with the fact that I have now established a profound interest in radiology, or rather nuclear medicine.
3. Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) delivers small high doses of high radiation to a precise target within the body, and is usually considered for early stage lung cancer.
Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.
Yen, C., Sheehan, J.P., Schwyzer, L., Schlesinger, D. (2011). Hemorrhage Risk of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations Before and During the Latency Period After Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. American Stroke Association, 42, 1691-1696. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.602706
Radiation therapy is a complex treatment plan to treat cancer in patients. Its treatment can be used alone or in conjunction with surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is delivered by a team of individuals who specialize in the treatment of cancer. There are several ways in which the radiation can be delivered to the patient with specialized equipment. Radiation therapy is an exciting field of study that can be beneficial to patients who are affected by cancer.
As a starting point in CT diagnostic imaging the form of radiation used to provide an image are x-rays photons , this can also be called an external radiation dose which detect a pathological condition of an organ or tissue and therefore it is more organ specific. However the physics process can be described as the radiation passes through the body it is received by a detector and then integrated by a computer to obtain a cross-sectional image (axial). In this case the ability of a CT scanner is to create only axial two dimensional images using a mathematical algorithm for image reconstruction. In contrast in RNI the main property for producing a diagnostic image involves the administration of small amounts of radiotracers or usually called radiopharmaceutical drugs to the patient by injection or oral. Radio meaning the emitted of gamma rays and pharmaceutical represents the compound to which a nuclide is bounded or attached. Unlike CT has the ability to give information about the physiological function of a body system. The radiopharmaceutical often referred to as a nuclide has the ability to emit ga...
There are ways to better understand how radiation affects the body when compared to other every day activities. If an occupational worker receives 1 rem per year then is it possible that 51 days is expected to be lost. A person that smokes 20 cigarettes a day takes about 6 years off of their life. People that are overweight by 15% take about 2 years off of their life. In actuality radiation would seem as though it is not any more harmful than other everyday activities people decide to do such as smoke, chew tobacco, or sky dive. The risk of taking days, weeks, years off of ones lives will always be present depending on the activity they choose to be part of. However, radiation exposure in the healthcare field is used to extend the patient’s life by helping them find out what is going on in their body. A patient that comes in with RLQ pain, nausea, and vomiting then an abdomen x-r...
Cancer has become a very common illness world wide for any age but mostly affecting adults. One can get cancer from different places in the body that is why there are so many people with cancer, because of all the different types. Cancer can affect any gender, female or male, and any age. It varies from ovarian cancer to prostate cancer, skin cancer to lukemia. Cancer has been a problem for many years yet we have not found a cure to treat and prevent cancer. If one is affected by cancer there are treatments to help take away this illness affecting their body. This essay is about a specific type of treatment for cancer, radiation therapy. There are different types of forms of particles for radiation, for example, protons and waves like x-rays and visible light. These types of radiations are grouped on how much energy they contain because it can cause different affects. A low type of energy radiation can be radio waves and heat, also known as non-ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation has enough energy to break chemical bonds and knock electrons out of atoms, some examples of these are x-rays and ultraviolet light rays from the sun. That is why radiation is a way to treat cancer because of the strong energy it has to destroy a cancer cell, actually any cell in the body. That’s the issue with radiation therapy, is it worth the damage? It can damage any cell, wether it is healthy or cancerous, which can cause a major affect in the body later on. Although it sounds scary there are other types of treatments such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy, etc. So if radiation therapy does not sound like the best there are always other options but they do not develop the same results for radiation therapy. Rad...
Each ray in the spectrum have different characteristics and features. Gamma rays, along with 2 others are "ionizing," meaning these waves have such a high level of energy that they can knock electrons out of atoms. Exposure to these highly energized waves can reshape atoms and molecules and cause damage to cells in natural, untouched forms and matter. This is where the separation of the advantages and dis advantages of ionizing waves occur. These changes to cells can be helpful, as when radiation is used to kill cancer cells, yet if not taken care of seriously it can be highly dangerous to the lives of us humans. Out of the electromagnetic spectrum Gamma rays hold the smallest wave length of 10 to the power of 10-10 to the power of 12. In electromagnetic radiation the wave’s frequency is ...
Radiation therapists work closely with patients to fight cancer. According to Health Care Careers, Oncologists, Dosimetrists and nurses are some of the professionals that a radiation therapist works with while caring for a cancer patient. This group of professionals will determine a specialized treatment plan. The first step usually includes a CT scan performed by a radiologist to find the exact area that needs to be targeted with x-rays. Next, the therapist uses a special machine that emits radiation called a Linear Accelerator. They use this machine during a treatment called external beam therapy. During this process, the Linear Accelerator will project x-rays at targeted cancer cells or tumors. Another therapist will be in a different room monitoring the patient’s viral signs until the procedure is over. The external therapy l...
Radiology is one of the few so-called “physical-science”-based fields of medicine, making it a challenging and rewarding application of an academic interest in science. It combines advanced knowledge of human physiology with principles of atomic physics and nuclear decay, electricity and magnetism, and both organic and inorg...
Ionization radiations are used in radiotherapy for cancer treatment and these radiation can control rapid cell growth. Nowadays, radiotherapy is converted to one of the most important modality of cancer
The radiation kills cells by damaging their genetic structure in several different ways. Radiation gets into the body by an mechanical delivery system, it can be injected, or placed somewhere in the body during surgery. While we encounter radiation in everyday life, radiation therapy provides the body with a very high dosage. It can be injected on its own or in a combination therapy, sometimes with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is generally much more specific; that is to say that, while chemotherapy treats the whole body, radiation is used on a more targeted area. The range of uses is also similar to chemo, as it can be used with the intention of destroying the cancer, slowing it down or being used to lessen symptoms of the disease. In brief, Radiation is a treatment that continues to be advanced and is saving many lives. Radiation, Chemotherapy, and Immunotherapy are three ways that cancer treatment continues to