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IMRT
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy
For additional information, see article
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a highly specialized conformal radiation treatment technique that conforms a high dose radiation beam to a defined target such as tumor while restricting dose to the surrounding sensitive structures. In IMRT, the beam intensity is varied across the treatment field. Rather than being treated with a single, large, uniform beam, the patient is treated instead with many very small beams; each can have a different intensity. By cross firing the tumor with these beams, the physician delivers a relatively uniform radiation dose to the tumor, but protects sensitive, surrounding tissue from high-dose radiation.
When the tumor is not well separated from the surrounding organs at risk - such as what occurs when a tumor wraps itself around an organ - conventional treatment can't deliver a combination of uniform intensity beams that will safely separate the tumor from the healthy organ. In contrast, using IMRT can give more intense treatment of the tumor, while limiting the radiation dose to adjacent healthy tissue.
What are the potential uses and advantages for IMRT?
IMRT is deliverable anywhere in the body with proper fixation:
Intracranial: Brain stem, optic chiasm, and orbit can be spared with precision, preserving critical functions such as vision.
Head and neck: Parotids - and therefore saliva production - are spared
Spine: Sparing of radiation dose to the spinal cord, significantly reducing risk of spinal nerve injury
Prostate: Bladder, rectum and femoral heads are spared of unnecessary radiation
What are the clinical benefits?
- Improved tumor control while minimizing complications.
- Patients with re-occurrence of previously radiated tumors may be safely treated again.
- Allows treatment of patients not previously amenable to radiation treatment.
For additional information, visit www.nomos.com
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