A Novel Radiotherapy Technique

Cancer is the second leading cause of death behind heart disease in the United States (National Center for Health Statistics, 2006). Various caner treatments are available now, but the three most common types are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Radiotherapy uses radiation—in the form of a special kind of x-rays, γ-rays, electrons, or protons to kill cancer cells. The advance of modern radiotherapy is closely linked to the evolution of computer and information technology. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced form of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). It has become today’s standard for state-of-the-art radiation treatment. IMRT is based on the concept of inverse treatment planning. By optimizing a constrained objective function, IMRT can modulate the shape and intensity of radiation beams to create a dose distribution highly conformal to the target volume. In this article, we report the results of our investigation on the feasibility and potential benefits of combining electrons with intensity-modulated photons, called IMRT+e, for selected types of caner, particularly for superficial tumors with critical organs underneath. The aim is to deliver high radiation dose to the tumor while sparing all the surrounding normal tissues, thereby minimizing radiation induced side-effects.