INTRO TO RADTHERA Flashcards
Another term for rad thera
Radiation Oncology
- Treatment of malignant and benign tumors by the application of ionizing radiation
Radiation therapy
What are the 3 principal procedures used in tx of cancer
Radiation Therapy
Surgery
Chemotherapy
They prescribe the quantity of radiation and determine the anatomic region/s to be treated and to be monitored
RADIATION ONCOLOGIST
- Gives advices to the consultant about dosage calculations and complex treatment techniques
MEDICAL PHYSICIST/ MEDICAL DOSIMETRIST
- Devise a plan for delivering the txs in a manner to best meet the consultant’s goal of irradiation the tumor while protecting vital normal structures
MEDICAL PHYSICIST/ MEDICAL DOSIMETRIST
- Administers the approved treatment plan, keeping accurate records of the dose delivered each day
- Monitors patient physical and emotional well-being
Radiation Therapist
What does a radiation therapist do?
- Obtains radiographs/ CT-Scan images that localizes the area to be treated
- Assists patients w/ the side effects of their treatment and makes sure that patient is in good condition during patient’s treatment
Radiology nurse
What is the aim of radiation therapy?
- Deliver precisely high dose of radiation to a specific tumor volume with minimal damage to the surrounding healthy tissue
What are the 3 goals of radiation therapy?
Curative, Palliative, Prophylactic
- There’s probability of long-term survival after adequate therapy
Curative
What does palliative refer to?
- No hope of total eradication of the tumor, done to relieve suffering and to prolong life
- Treatment of some parts of the body that is suspected of harboring tumor cell but w/o any symptoms
Prophylactic
- Disease process that involves an unregulated & uncontrolled replication of cells.
- Invades normal tissues, destroy and create a mass of tumor cells
Cancer
90% of cancer arises from what?
Epithelial tissue
Causes of cancer?
- Genetic Factors
- Lifestyle Factors
- Certain Types of Infections
- Environmental Exposures
what are the types of carcinomas
Squamous cell carcinoma, Adenocarcinoma
- Arises from the surface epithelium of a structure
squamous cell carcinoma
where does squamous cell carcinoma arise from?
ORAL CAVITY, PHARYNX, BRONCHUS, SKIN, CERVIX
- Develops in a glandular epithelium
Adenocarcinoma
Where do adenocarcinomas develop?
PROSTATE, COLON/RECTUM, LUNG, BREAST, ENDOMETRIUM
- Designed by the International Union Against Cancer and American Joint Committee For Cancer Staging And End Results Reporting
TNM STAGING
What does T,N,M mean?
T- evidence & size of tumor
N - evidence of disease in the lymph nodes
M - spreading of the cancer to multiple organs
This tx for cancer uses drugs taken by mouth/injected into the px’s vein
chemotherapy
when do you use chemotherapy?
if the disease is systemic
- May be prescribed when the tumor is small and its margins are well-defined.
- Involves the removal of the tumor plus some surrounding tissues
Surgery
- Generally used after surgery when a px is deemed to be at high risk for tumor recurrence in the surgical bed
- Uses photons, electron and other sources of radiation
Radiation therapy
- Radiotherapy technique in w/c source of radiation is at some distance from the px
Teletherapy/EBRT
What does EBRT mean?
External beam radiation therapy
What is brachytherapy?
- Placement of radioactive substance/nuclides in or on neoplasm to deliver cancericidal dose
What are the categories of cancer?
Carcinoma
Sarcoma
Leukemia
Lymphoma
Myeloma
- Cancer that begins in the skin/tissues that line/cover internal organs
Carcinoma
What is sarcoma?
- CA that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective/supportive tissue
- CA that starts in blood-forming tissue such as bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood
Leukemia
what is lymphoma?
- Develop in the glands/nodes of the lymphatic system
what is myeloma?
- CA originating in plasma cells of the bone marrow
These are any attribute, characteristic, or exposure of an individual that increases the likelihood of developing a disease/injury
risk factors
Categories of risk factors
external & internal
Give 5 signs of cancer
- C – hange in bowel/bladder habits
- A – sore that does not heal
- U – nusual bleeding/discharge
- T – hickening/lump in the breast, testicles/elsewhere
- I – ndigestion/difficulty swallowing
- O – bvious change in the size, color, shape, or thickness of a wart, mole, or mouth sore
- N – aging cough/hoarseness
- U – nexplained weight loss
- S – evere pain
Process of treatment of cancer
- Diagnosis
- Multidisciplinary Meeting
- Simulation Procedure
- Treatment Planning
- Treatment Delivery
- Monitoring and Follow-Up
what are the 4Rs in radiotherapy?
repair (few hours)
Redistribution (few hours)
reoxygenation of tumor cells (hours to few hours)
repopulation of normal healthy cells (7 weeks)
- Time interval between radiation fractions allows normal cells to grow, divide and therefore continue normal function at the level of tissues and organs.
REPOPULATION OF NORMAL HEALTHY CELLS (5-7 weeks)
- Majority of radiation damage to the DNA
of cancer cells occurs through a free radical mechanism that is enhanced by oxygen.
REOXYGENATION OF TUMOR CELLS (hours to few hours)
- ______________ of tumor cells into more radiosensitive phases of the cell cycle. Cancer cells have varying sensitivity to radiation depending on their current phase of the cell cycle.
redistribution
- ________ of sublethal DNA damage by normal cells. Fractionated tx preferentially allows normal cells to repair sublethal DNA damage
Repair
