Block 11 - L14-L16 Flashcards
At least ___% of patients with cancer receive radiation therapy at some point during their management.
50
Tumors grow ___ for a portion of their natural history.
Exponentially
What is the lower limit of detection of a tumor? What is the lethal volume of cancer?
Lower limit - 1E9 cells
Lethal volume - 1E12 cells
Most cancers have therefore completed about 2/3 of their natural life span before they are detected.
Who is on the cancer team?
- Surgical oncologist
- Medical oncologist
- Radiation oncologist
Support services - radiology, nuclear medicine, pathology, social work, nursing
What is the role of the radiation oncologist?
- Determine if radiation therapy is needed
- Recommend the type, dose, and fractionation schedule
- Inform patients regarding rationale, side effects, and potential late toxicities
- Follow the patient during and after treatment
What is ionizing radiation?
Energy strong enough to ionize an atom
What are gamma rays?
Photons emitted from radioactive materials as they decay
What are x-rays?
Photos produced by a machine
What is external beam radiation therapy?
Aims ionizing radiation at a tumor using beams from the outside
How are high energy photos produced?
By a linear accelerator when a tungsten target is bombarded by high energy electrons
What voltage is used in diagnostic radiology? In radiation therapy?
Diagnostic radiology - kV (25 kV-150 kV) (photoelectric effect creates sharp distinctions between tissue types)
Radiation therapy - MV (4 MV-20 MV) (intentionally ionizing, compton effect, pair production)
This type of EBRT uses simple fields, plans based on bony landmarks
Conventional EBRT
This type of EBRT develops a radiation plan based on a CT scan of the patient in the radiation position
3D conformal
What is a boost?
Additional radiation given to the region of the tumor bed that is at highest risk of recurrence
What is the unit of dosing in radiation therapy?
Gray (Gy)
1 Gy = ?
1 joule/kg (measure of energy deposited in the tissue treated)
What is the typical dose of radiation therapy per day?
2 Gy
Why is radiation therapy given in patients who receive breast conserving therapy?
To reduce the risk of cancer recurrence
What are the treatment options for operable head and neck cancers?
- Surgery followed by radiation
- Radiation followed by surgery
- Chemo-radiation with surgery reserved for incomplete response to therapy
What is IMRT?
A type of EBRT; intensity of the radiation beam varies across the radiation field, based on CT anatomy, inverse treatment planning
How is an IMRT plan designed?
Radiation oncologist defines regions to treat and doses to give, as well as regions to avoid
Radiation physicist creates the plan
The combination of chemotherapy and RT has been proven to improve cancer control rates for many tumors. What is the downside to this therapy?
Increased toxicity
What is brachytherapy?
Placement of radioactive materials into or immediately adjacent to the cancer; requires an invasive procedure; may be done alone or in combination with EBRT
What is the difference between low dose rate and high dose rate brachytherapy?
LDR - temporary or permanent, delivered over days to weeks
HDR - temporary, then removed; source is very “hot,” so high doses given in minutes
___ cancer is commonly treated with brachytherapy alone.
Prostate
What is radiosurgery?
Short course, high dose, very focused EBRT
List the ways to perform radiosurgery.
- Gamma knife
- Linear accelerator based
- Cyberknife
In this type of radiosurgery, the patient is immobilized and cross-firing tiny radiation beams give extremely high doses to small points in the brain.
Gamma knife radiosurgery
In this type of radiosurgery, a miniature linear accelerator is mounted on a robot arm and can treat tumors located anywhere in the body
Cyberknife radiosurgery
The ___ technique accurately delivers radiotherapy from within the breast in about 25 minutes.
TARGIT
Discuss the components of radiation safety.
ALARA - as low as reasonably achievable
Time - minimize amount of time you are exposed
Distance - 1/R^2 (2 times the distance is 4 times less the dose)
Shielding
What are the goals of radiation?
- Cure cancer
2. Palliation in incurable patients
When can radiation be used?
- Before surgery
- After surgery
- Alone
- In combination with chemo
List the common radiation treatments.
- EBRT (conventional, 3D conformal, IMRT)
- Brachytherapy (HDR, LDR)
- Radiosurgery
True or false - Radiation toxicity only occurs if radiotherapy has been delivered.
True
True or false - Radiation toxicity only occurs if radiotherapy has been delivered to the area in question.
True
The most important factors to determine if a patient is having a radiation toxicity is determining the ___ and the ___.
Area radiated; dose