Treatment Options
Radiation Therapy is one method used for treating certain malignant, as well as some nonmalignant, conditions. This treatment uses high-energy rays and electron beams to interrupt the growth of cells. Machines called linear accelerators use electricity to create painless, high-energy x-rays and electron beams. These rays are beamed into your body during treatment. The radiation oncologist, a specially trained physician, will decide the dosage, technique and type of radiation to be used for your treatment. There are various types of radiation treatments available for specific conditions. Your physician will discuss with you the type of treatment that can help you the most. The following is a list of available services we offer:| External Beam Radiation | MammoSite Radiation Treatment |
| HDR Brachytherapy | Radioisotope Therapy |
| Intraoperative Radiation Therapy | Stereotactic Radiosurgery |
| Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy |
| External Beam Radiation |
External Beam radiation therapy comes from a machine
called a Linear accelerator. The machine directs the radiation to
the site of the cancer. The machine does not touch you it rotates
around you, targeting the tumor from different angles.
External Beam radiation is aimed only at a specific part of your body. You are not radioactive after your treatment. Back to top
| HDR Brachytherapy |
Occasionally, a surgical procedure may be necessary to
implant or place radioactive sources in an anatomic site which is
involved with cancer. Usually these procedures are carried out in
the operating room under the usual sterile and surgical methods
necessary for other types of surgery. Either general or local
anesthesia may be required and certain restrictions will be
temporarily made in patent's activities. Methods of delivering
brachytherapy dose include intracavitary or interstitial placement
of sources, instillation of colloidal solutions, and parenteral or
oral administration.
At the radiation department of University of Toledo, these
options are available to patients in the form of encapsulated
sources of radiation (Cs-137), Wires for interstitial therapy and
permanent implants such as Au-198 or I-125 seeds. These implants
provide radiation to a limited area which minimizes the exposure to
normal tissues. Common sites of treatment for these implants
include cancers of the tongue, lip, breast, vagina, cervix,
endometrium, rectum, bladder and brain. Strontium 90, a beta ray
applicator is used at UT to treat pterygium, a benign condition of
cornea, and Strontium-89 coloride is given intravenously for bone
pain palliation. For other lesions radioactive isotopes are
administered orally , parenterally, or instilled into intrapleural
or peritoneal spaces. Iodine-131 for example, is frequently used
for treatment of thyroid cancer by oral administration.
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| Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy |
The University of Toledo isn’t new
to cutting-edge cancer treatment. UT has a history of leadership in
cancer care. The Radiation Oncology Department offers the most
sophisticated cancer treatments in the country, including
intraoperative radiation, stereotactic radiosurgery, high dose-rate
brachytherapy and now intensity modulated radiation therapy.
The goal of radiation therapy is to deliver precise, even
doses of radiation to a malignant site while avoiding contact with
healthy tissue. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, or IMRT, can
intricately direct a beam of radiation to its target from a variety
of angles. It allows physicians to minimize “hot spots”
that can be accompanied by painful skin irritations. New computer
technology has made IMRT possible and allows it to be included in
the range of therapies available to our patients.
UT uses cutting-edge technology in designing radiation
treatment plans that are highly customized to each and every
patient. The system evaluates many possible combinations of
radiation beam shape, size and angles to help UT radiation
oncologists create the best possible treatment plan for each
patient.
When the diagnosis is cancer, treatment options must
carefully be weighed to identify the most effective option with the
least side effects. Even after radiation is chosen as a course of
treatment, a variety of methods, including IMRT, may be considered.
Often radiation will be used along with surgery, chemotherapy or a
combination of the two.
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| Intraoperative Radiation Therapy |
| Mammo Site Radiation Treatment |
Cancer
specialists at the University of Toledo are using a new
procedure that cuts radiation time down.
The "MammoSite" catheter allows UT cancer physicians to treat
select early-stage breast cancer patients who undergo lumpectomies
with localized radiation therapy that shortens radiation time to
five days.
During the procedure, also known as breast brachytherapy,
surgeons perform a traditional lumpectomy to remove the cancerous
tumor. They then place a small, soft balloon attached to a thin
catheter, or tube, inside the lumpectomy cavity in the breast
through a small incision during surgery. The balloon is inflated
and it remains inside the breast during radiation treatment.
The patient visits UT twice a day for five days, at which time a sophisticated, computer-controlled machine known as a high dose rate brachytherapy unit delivers a radioactive seed through the catheter to the inflated balloon. The seed remains inside the breast for about 15 minutes to deliver the radiation directly on the lumpectomy tissue before the seed is retracted back into the machine.
University Medical Center was the first hospital in northwest Ohio to have this special computer-controlled machine. Not all breast cancer patients are candidates for the new therapy. Selection criteria calls for patients to be 45 years of age or older with early-stage breast cancer, a tumor size less than three centimeters (about an inch) with clear margins and no lymph node involvement.
If you'd like to learn more about the MammoSite Radiation treatment, please visit Voices of MammoSite. Back to top
| Radioisotope Therapy |
Radioisotope therapy is a targeted therapy. Radioisotopes are delivered through the bloodstream or orally through ingestion. The Radioisotopes commonly used in the Radiation department here are Iodine-131 and Strontium-89. Iodine-131 is used to treat thyroid cancer. The therapy is usually given by mouth (liquid or capsules). The Iodine-131 is ingested, and it is concentrated in the thyroid cells, killing the cancer cells. If the dose is low enough the patients treatment is given as an outpatient. Strontium-89 is used to treat bone metastasis , usually from prostate cancer. The isotope travels to the areas of damaged bone. This procedure is also done as an outpatient. Back to top
| Stereotactic Radiosurgery |
Stereotactic Radiosurgery is a procedure that relies on complex brain mapping techniques and computer technology. The patient undergoes CT scanning that takes painless cross-sectional pictures of the brain. Once the CT data are gathered, the physics team enters the data into a high-powered computer. The tumor regions and important brain structures are carefully outlined. The computer reconstructs the anatomical structures in 3D using the graphics programs developed at UT. The software identifies potential crossing of radiation beams with critical structures in the brain such as the eyes, optic nerves, brain stem and the internal capsule that carry nerve bundles to the spinal cord. Back to top