The irradiation zone is very long when we should irradiate both the spinal cord and the brain. It is difficult to conduct radiation treatment on a classic linear accelerator to cancel the tumor and safe healthy organs.
In the case of radiation therapy, a conventional linear accelerator can cause radiation burns, a drop in blood counts, tissue necrosis, relapse… Therefore, in some special cases it is important to use complex irradiation techniques to make high demands on equipment and training specialists.
TomoClinic has equipment and specialists who can carry out radiation treatment of almost any complexity. We conduct radiosurgery of tiny formations and craniospinal irradiation, sarcomas of large sizes or large areas of skin.
Hot and cold centers: the essence of the task
The standard size of the radiation field of a linear accelerator is 40 by 40 centimeters, but the tumor always has an imperfect shape and may have a larger scale. Specialists are forced to “dock” 2-3 irradiation fields with each other for 25-30 sessions while using traditional linear accelerator.
These fields may intersect or not converge at the junction. As a result of this, “hot” and “cold” foci of radiation appear. The dose in these places may be higher or lower than the prescribed.
A hot focus in the target can cause tissue necrosis, and a cold focus due to insufficient exposure to the tumor can lead to a relapse in the future.
Why are they contacting us for craniospinal irradiation of tumors?
The task of TomoClinic specialists is to ensure the absence of these cold and hot foci. Therefore, in such situations, they turn to the linear accelerator TomoTherapy by Accuray. The device in our clinic allows working with long targets: the maximum length of the radiation field on it is 135 centimeters.
The apparatus table is constantly moving during the implementation of the treatment plan. It helps to avoid stratification of fields, in contrast to the traditional linear accelerator. We can irradiate the target from all directions around the patient, as evenly as possible. We also can reduce the effect of rays on healthy tissues and organs.
To achieve this level of treatment quality patients come to TomoClinic, Kropyvnytskyi, from all over the country and world. Sign up for a consultation on the phones indicated on our website!