Radiation Treatment For Cancer

Answer 1

Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. About half of all people with cancer are treated with radiation therapy, either alone or in combination with other types of cancer treatment. Radiation therapy may be external or internal. External radiation treatment for cancer, the type most often used, comes from a machine outside the body, and is usually given on an outpatient basis. Internal radiation is implanted into or near the tumor in small capsules or other containers. It may require a hospital stay. Different types of radiation are used to treat different types of cancer.

Radiation therapy makes it impossible for cells in the area being treated (the "target tissue") by damaging their genetic material. Although radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells, most normal cells can recover from the effects of radiation and function properly. The goal of radiation therapy is to damage as many cancer cells as possible, while limiting harm to nearby healthy tissue.

There are different ways to deliver different types of radiation. For example, certain types of radiation can penetrate more deeply into the body than can others. In addition, some types of radiation can be very finely controlled to treat only a small area (an inch of tissue, for example) without damaging nearby tissues and organs. Larger areas are better treated with other types of radiation.

Symptoms such as pain from cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and bones, can be reduced from radiation. This is called palliative radiation therapy. Completely destroying an entire tumor, in some cases, is the goal of radiation treatment. In other cases, the aim is to shrink a tumor and relieve symptoms. In either case, doctors plan treatment to spare as much healthy tissue as possible. About half of all cancer patients receive some type of radiation therapy. Used alone, or in combination with other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or surgery, radiation can be used, and sometimes more than one type.

Hyperthermia, the use of heat, is being studied in conjunction with radiation therapy. Researchers have found that the combination of heat and radiation can increase the response rate of some tumors.

Scientific advances have led to the discovery of new targets that are being investigated to attract radioactive materials directly to cancer cells. Laboratory and clinical research is in progress using the new molecular therapeutic agents, with radiation therapy.

New ways of using radiation treatment for cancer are being researched. One such process is called radio immunotherapy. This is the use of radio labeled antibodies to deliver doses of radiation directly to the cancer site. The antibodies seek out cancer cells which are destroyed by the radiation substances attached to them. This approach can minimize the risk of radiation damage to healthy cells.