The Substantial advancements in radiotherapy
Technological advancements have made radiotherapy for more accurate and adaptable to individual patient needs.
The management of a cancer patient requires the involvement of different medical specialties in or- der to correctly design an individual patient's management path- way toward cure. The new therapeutic tools in every medical field are developing faster than ever before. The patient care outcomes can be best achieved if all surgical, drug, and radiation options are optimally combined. Radiation therapy (RT) is a clinical discipline in which the expert doctors called radiation oncologists diagnose and stage the cancer and then in collaboration with colleagues of the medical, surgical oncology and other specialties form a management pathway for each patient. Once the patient has decided to undergo radiotherapy treatment, the radiation oncologist prescribes the dose and modality of the radiotherapy for the patient depending on various factors including disease biology, stage, site and various other factors. The steps involved in the radiotherapy treatment planning include immobilization, simulation scan, target delineation, planning on computers and quality assurances before it can be finally implemented as a radiation treatment. We at The ACOC Dubai, have a high-end technology LINAC machine VERSA HD (ELEKTA) which has the capability of delivering high precision radiotherapy. Plans of such high precision are generated using highly sophisticated algorithms on the treatment planning computers. With the help of a highly trained staff and a highly reproducible immobilization techniques, these plans are delivered flawlessly throughout the radiotherapy course..
High end technologies are essential in dealing with the complexity of RT treatments. High conformal techniques. namely intensity modulated (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc techniques (VMAT) allows for success in treating irregularly shaped or critically located targets and for the sharpness of the dose fall-off outside the target. The advanced on-board imaging (Image guided radiotherapy - IGRT) makes it possible to achieve sub millimeter accuracy in the treatments and in reducing margins and, in select cases. implementation of an adaptive approach. The therapeutic gains of modern RT are also due in part to the enhanced anticancer activity obtained by co-administering RT with chemo- therapy, targeted molecules, and the immune checkpoints inhibitors. Radiotherapy technology has advanced substantially.
To learn more about The Advanced Care Oncology Center, visit acocdubai.com or contact 04 565 6300