Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is also referred as radiotherapy or radiation oncology. It is used in medicinal field to treat tumor cells as it controls the malignant cell formation. Mostly it is used in conjunction with other treatments like surgery, hormone therapy treatment and chemotherapy treatment. Depending on the type of tumor cells, location and developing stages of tumor cells, radiation therapy can be adjuvant, neo adjuvant and therapeutic, palliative and/ or curative therapy.

History

Cancer treatment using radiation therapy is 100 years old. It started earlier since the invention of X-rays by Wilhelm Rontgen in the year 1895. Later, with the help of Marie Curie’s invention of radioactive elements like Polonium and Radium, radiation therapy developed further. Till the mid 1900s, radium was used as ionizing source. Later, cobalt and cesium replaced radium. By inventing tomography in the year 1971, Godfreys Hounsfield helped in production of either 2D or 3D images. With the invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the  1970s and positron emission tomography in the 1980s, the quality of images produced got improved. All these inventions helped oncologists to find target specific areas of infection.

Radiation therapy working

The waves like photon, electron, proton, neutron and other ions interpret the DNA chain formation. Damage to DNA is possible at free radicals in specific hydroxy radicals where water ionization results in release of free radicals. Cell behaviors can be altered by breaking the two strands of DNA.

Types of radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is divided in to three major types as pointed out below.

• External beam radiotherapy otherwise called as teletherapy
  • Conventional external beam radiotherapy
  • Stereo tactic radiation
  • Virtual simulation
  • 3D conformal radiotherapy
  • Intensity modulated radiotherapy
  • Particle therapy
  • Intra operative radiotherapy
• Brachytherapy otherwise called as sealed source radiotherapy
• Systemic radioisotope therapy otherwise called as unsealed source radiotherapy    
  • Infusion
  • Oral ingestion

Side effects of radiation therapy

Following are developed when an individual undergoes radiation therapy.

• Swelling
• Infertility
• Soreness
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Epilation
• Dryness
• Heart disease
• Cognitive decline