Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery

Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) is a new radiotherapy technology that combines the rapid dose fall off associated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and daily tumor imaging allowing for high precision tumor dose delivery and effective sparing of surrounding normal organs. The new radiatio...

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Main Authors: Nam Phong Nguyen, Ulf Lennart Karlsson
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media SA 2021
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Online Access:18236
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author Nam Phong Nguyen
Ulf Lennart Karlsson
author_browse Nam Phong Nguyen
Ulf Lennart Karlsson
author_facet Nam Phong Nguyen
Ulf Lennart Karlsson
author_sort Nam Phong Nguyen
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) is a new radiotherapy technology that combines the rapid dose fall off associated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and daily tumor imaging allowing for high precision tumor dose delivery and effective sparing of surrounding normal organs. The new radiation technology requires close collaboration between radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, and radiation oncologists to avoid marginal miss. Modern diagnostic imaging such as positron emission tomography (PET) scans, positron emission tomography with Computed Tomograpgy (PET-CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows the radiation oncologist to target the positive tumor with high accuracy. As the tumor is well visualized during radiation treatment, the margins required to avoid geographic miss can be safely reduced , thus sparing the normal organs from excessive radiation. When the tumor is located close to critical radiosensitive structures such as the spinal cord, IGRT can deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumor and simultaneously decreasing treatment toxicity, thus potentially improving cure rates and patient quality of life. During radiotherapy, tumor shrinkage and changes of normal tissues/volumes can be detected daily with IGRT. The volume changes in the target volumes and organs at risk often lead to increased radiation dose to the normal tissues and if left uncorrected may result in late complications. Adaptive radiotherapy with re-planning during the course of radiotherapy is therefore another advantage of IGRT over the conventional radiotherapy techniques. This new technology of radiotherapy delivery provides the radiation oncologist an effective tool to improve patient quality of life. In the future, radiation dose-escalation to the residual tumor may potentially improve survival rates. Because the treatment complexity, a great deal of work is required from the dosimetry staff and physicists to ensure quality of care. Preliminary clinical results with IGRT are encouraging but more prospective studies should be performed in the future to assess the effectiveness of IGRT in improving patient quality of life and local control. In this Frontiers Research Topic, we encourage submission of original papers and reviews dealing with imaging for radiotherapy planning, the physics and dosimetry associated with IGRT, as well as the clinical outcomes for cancer treatment with IGRT for all tumor sites.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-499122024-03-30T23:22:42Z Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery Nam Phong Nguyen Ulf Lennart Karlsson R5-920 RC254-282 disease-specific survival Image-guided radiotherapy Comorbidity Computerized axial tomography Cancer thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) is a new radiotherapy technology that combines the rapid dose fall off associated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and daily tumor imaging allowing for high precision tumor dose delivery and effective sparing of surrounding normal organs. The new radiation technology requires close collaboration between radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, and radiation oncologists to avoid marginal miss. Modern diagnostic imaging such as positron emission tomography (PET) scans, positron emission tomography with Computed Tomograpgy (PET-CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows the radiation oncologist to target the positive tumor with high accuracy. As the tumor is well visualized during radiation treatment, the margins required to avoid geographic miss can be safely reduced , thus sparing the normal organs from excessive radiation. When the tumor is located close to critical radiosensitive structures such as the spinal cord, IGRT can deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumor and simultaneously decreasing treatment toxicity, thus potentially improving cure rates and patient quality of life. During radiotherapy, tumor shrinkage and changes of normal tissues/volumes can be detected daily with IGRT. The volume changes in the target volumes and organs at risk often lead to increased radiation dose to the normal tissues and if left uncorrected may result in late complications. Adaptive radiotherapy with re-planning during the course of radiotherapy is therefore another advantage of IGRT over the conventional radiotherapy techniques. This new technology of radiotherapy delivery provides the radiation oncologist an effective tool to improve patient quality of life. In the future, radiation dose-escalation to the residual tumor may potentially improve survival rates. Because the treatment complexity, a great deal of work is required from the dosimetry staff and physicists to ensure quality of care. Preliminary clinical results with IGRT are encouraging but more prospective studies should be performed in the future to assess the effectiveness of IGRT in improving patient quality of life and local control. In this Frontiers Research Topic, we encourage submission of original papers and reviews dealing with imaging for radiotherapy planning, the physics and dosimetry associated with IGRT, as well as the clinical outcomes for cancer treatment with IGRT for all tumor sites. 2021-02-11T15:53:52Z 2021-02-11T15:53:52Z 2016-01-19 14:05:46 2016 book 18236 16648714 9782889198498 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/49912 eng Frontiers Research Topics image/jpeg Attribution 4.0 International http://www.frontiersin.org/books/Image-guided_Radiotherapy_for_Effective_Radiotherapy_Delivery/859#nogo http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/1602/image-guided-radiotherapy-for-effective-radiotherapy-delivery Frontiers Media SA 10.3389/978-2-88919-849-8 10.3389/978-2-88919-849-8 bf5ce210-e72e-4860-ba9b-c305640ff3ae 9782889198498 111 open access
spellingShingle R5-920
RC254-282
disease-specific survival
Image-guided radiotherapy
Comorbidity
Computerized axial tomography
Cancer
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing
Nam Phong Nguyen
Ulf Lennart Karlsson
Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery
title Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery
title_full Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery
title_fullStr Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery
title_full_unstemmed Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery
title_short Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Effective Radiotherapy Delivery
title_sort image guided radiotherapy for effective radiotherapy delivery
topic R5-920
RC254-282
disease-specific survival
Image-guided radiotherapy
Comorbidity
Computerized axial tomography
Cancer
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing
topic_facet R5-920
RC254-282
disease-specific survival
Image-guided radiotherapy
Comorbidity
Computerized axial tomography
Cancer
thema EDItEUR::M Medicine and Nursing
url 18236
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