 Our radiation oncologists design personalized radiation therapy treatments for our patients that take advantage of the latest techniques and cutting edge technologies such as IMRT and Brachytherapy. These minimally invasive treatments are painless, usually cause only mild side effects, and provide patients new promise in their fight against cancer.
|
Brachytherapy is the placement of radioactive sources in or just next to a tumor. During brachytherapy, the radioactive sources may be left in place permanently or only temporarily, depending upon your cancer. To position the sources accurately, special catheters or applicators are used. With intracavitary treatment, the radioactive sources are put into a space near where the tumor is located. With interstitial treatment, the radioactive sources are put directly into the tissues, such as the prostate.
Sometimes these procedures require anesthesia and a brief stay in the hospital. Temporary implants are left inside of your body for several hours or days. Devices called high-dose-rate (HDR) remote afterloading machines allow radiation oncologists to complete brachytherapy quickly, in about 10 to 20 minutes. Powerful radioactive sources travel through small tubes called catheters to the tumor for the amount of time prescribed by your radiation oncologist. You may be able to go home shortly after the procedure. Depending on the area treated, you may receive several treatments over a number of days or weeks. HDR brachytherapy is useful in the treatment of prostate cancer as well as gynecologic and gastrointestinal cancers
|
|
Radiation oncologists use image guided radiation therapy, or IGRT, to help deliver radiation therapy to the cancer more accuratley each day since tumors can move between treatments due to differences in organ filling or movements while breathing.
IGRT involves conformal radiation treatment guided by imaging, such as CT, ultrasound or X-rays, taken on the treatment table just before the patient is given the radiation treatment. All patients first undergo a CT scan as part of the planning process. The imaging information from the CT scan is then transmitted to a computer in the treatment room to allow doctors to compare the earlier image with the images taken just before treatment. During IGRT, doctors compare these images to see if the treatment needs to be adjusted. This allows doctors to better target the cancer while avoiding nearby healthy tissue.
IGRT has an important role in the treatment of prosate cancer since the prostate can move on a daily basis depending on the shape of the bladder and rectum at the time of treatment. Three tiny metallic fiducial markers can be implanted into the prostate prior to radiation planning and treatment. These markers can then be imaged on a daily basis prior to treatment, and the patient's body position can be modified as needed. Alternatively, our linear accelerators are equipped with cone-beam CT technology that enables a CT scan to be taken to verify prostate positioning prior to radiation delivery.
|
|
The TomoTherapy HI-ART treatment system is a unique, ground-breaking device that is currently available at Princeton Radiation Oncology's Pennsylvania location at St. Mary Regional Cancer Center. TomoTherapy delivers image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT) using real-time CT scanning technology.
The TomoTherapy treatment beam is mounted on a CT-scanner ring system that allows radiation therapy to be delivered continuously from all angles while the patient moves through the ring. Using tiny beamlets of radiation from every direction allows our physicians to create treatment plans that focus radiation on the tumor, while safely maneuvering around normal organs. The TomoTherapy device also enables a CT scan to be taken to visualize the tumor prior to treatment ensuring accurate and precise radiation treatment.
This technology permits the radiation oncologists at Princeton Radiation Oncology to offer new advances in treating cancers of the brain, spine, and other previously difficult-to-treat areas. |
|
IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) is a non-invasive procedure used to treat patients with a number of different kinds of cancer. Using a high-precision radiation targeting system, IMRT is able to maximize the radiation delivered to tumors while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. With years of specialized training and clinical success using this technology, our doctors are able to give our patients the best possible chance of recovery.
IMRT is delivered by specially equipped linear accelerators guided by a sophisticated computer system. The radiation beam generated by the IMRT system is shaped by 120 computer controlled multi-leaf collimators or “fingers” which allow exquisite conformality. Whereas traditional radiation treatments were delivered by 4-6 separate beams, IMRT employs hundreds of non-coplanar beams to precisely kill tumor cells.
This pinpoint accuracy of IMRT has several vital advantages for cancer patients. It allows maximization of dose delivery to the targeted tumor while minimizing healthy surrounding tissues from unnecessary exposure. As such, this theoretically will translate into local cure rates and fewer side effects from radiation treatments.
While IMRT has been employed successfully to treat many types of cancers, its benefits are clearly apparent for prostate cancer patients. Prostate cancer cells are relatively radio-resistant and require high doses for effective cure. This dose requirement is also compounded by its precarious anatomical location, as it is flanked by radiation sensitive structures such as the bladder and the rectum. Hence, IMRT allows the conformal dose delivery while minimizing the dose to the non-target tissues. Potential benefits of prostate IMRT include higher cure rates highlighted by lower chances of rectal bleeding and urinary complications.
Breast cancer is another disease that may benefit from IMRT’s unique attributes. Particular with cancers of the left breast, which lays above the heart, IMRT offers an excellent therapeutic option. It allows a conformal dose distribution around the breast while minimizing any dose to the myocardium. Consequently, potential long term complications of cardiovascular disease and pericarditis can be minimized.
 Brain tumors treatments are also being revolutionized by IMRT therapy. In particular, Princeton Radiation Oncology’s utilization of BrainLab’s micromulti-leaf system allows the most sophisticated radiation treatments to the central nervous system. Brain tumors are often irregularly shaped and almost always lie adjacent to vital non-target structures. Hence, IMRT’s elegant dose distribution is also ideal for brain treatments.
The IMRT program at Princeton Radiation Oncology is being utilized successfully in all of these types of cancers. We are proud to be among the leading institutions bringing this revolutionary technology to New Jersey. |
Prostate seed implantation is a minimally invasive procedure for treating prostate cancer in which radioactive seeds are placed in the prostate gland to target cancer cells while maximizing the preservation of healthy tissue. This outpatient procedure requires general anesthesia and takes only a few hours. Most patients return to normal activities within two to three days. Our doctors are experts in treating prostate cancer patients using prostate seed implantation, having pioneered its use over a decade ago.
|
|
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a non-invasive method of delivering a single, high-dose of radiation to a prescribed tumor. It is principally used to treat cancers of the brain, and head and neck that cannot be treated through surgery. Our doctors have collectively treated more than 800 patients using stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and they were among the first in New Jersey to begin using BrainLAB based stereotactic radiosurgery, an enhancement in SRS that provides even greater targeting acccuracy and better results for our patient.
Dr. Brian Chon recently spoke about Stereotactic Radiosurgery on KYW Newsradio 1060.
Click here to listen.
|
|
 3-D conformal radiation therapy is a method of treating patients who have tumors that are too close to vital organs and other structures for normal radiation therapy. It involves a complex process of creating individualized, 3D digital data sets of a patient's tumors and normal adjacent anatomy. These data sets are then used to generate 3D computer images that help in the delivery of highly focused radiation beams that maximize the radiation of tumors while minimizing damage to normal tissue in adjacent organs.
|
|
|
|
|
