Author:
Dr Vijetha J, Consultant – Radiation Oncology
Radiotherapy is one of the few branches of medicine which has been through significant changes since its inception due to the tremendous development of technology.
There is a peculiarity in its evolution; the radiation dose was delivered at a high value in a single sitting in earlier days. Slowly it evolved to get divided at many sittings (what we term “fractions”) and now thanks to radiosurgical techniques we could go back to delivering high doses in a single fraction.
The principle behind this was very simple. There were numerous toxic effects on normal tissue, but with the latest technology, we can spare them so much that we could go back to single fraction treatment without any side effects.
What was earlier achievable in Gamma Knife Radiosurgery systems is now equally feasible in LINAC-based systems.
The introduction of Radiosurgery was primarily for intracranial diseases as the movement of the target within the skull is usually not possible. But with the advent of respiratory gating and 4D scans, we can now track the target movements in the extracranial sites. Hence, it’s feasible for us to treat even the extracranial sites.
Traditionally, there were invasive frames which were used to deliver a high precision Radiosurgery treatment. Whereas now, the online verification images (imaging just before delivering treatment) and faster treatment have made it possible to achieve millimetre accuracy with non-invasive frames too. This has also helped us treat slightly larger tumors with 2-5 sessions due to the repeated applicability of non-invasive frames.
The Radiosurgical option has to be carefully given as it’s not a replacement for surgery. But, many patients do get benefitted when radiosurgery is used in justified instances. Hence, it would be of profound significance to know this option when your near/dear ones are suffering from benign or malignant tumors. This efficient, simple, comfortable, OPD based treatment should be explored appropriately.