Stereotactic radiation therapy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stereotactic radiation therapy is a type of external radiation therapy that uses special equipment to position the patient and precisely deliver radiation to a tumor. The total dose of radiation is divided into several smaller doses given over several days. Stereotactic radiation therapy is used to treat brain tumors and other brain disorders. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer, such as lung cancer. Also called stereotactic external-beam radiation therapy and stereotaxic radiation therapy. What differentiates Stereotactic from conventional radiotherapy is the precision with which it is delivered. There are multiple systems available, some of which use specially designed frames which physically attach to the patient's skull while newer more advanced techniques use thermoplastic masks and highly accurate imaging systems to locate the patient. The end result is the delivery of high doses of radiation with sub-millimetre accuracy.

External links

Stereotactic radiation therapy entry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms

This article incorporates public domain material from the U.S. National Cancer Institute document "Dictionary of Cancer Terms".

Radiation oncology
(ICD-9-CM V3 92.2-92.3 · ICD-10-PCS D)

Specific
therapies

Teletherapy¹

by photon	Superficial X-rays Orthovoltage X-rays Megavoltage X-rays Radiosurgery / Stereotactic radiation therapy Cyberknife Gamma Knife CHHIP Cobalt therapy

by electron	Electron therapy

by hadron	Particle therapy fast neutron boron neutron-capture proton

Brachytherapy²

Prostate (¹²⁵I · ¹⁰³Pd)
Plaque radiotherapy (¹²⁵I)
Selective internal radiation therapy / SIR-Spheres / TheraSphere (⁹⁰Y)

Unsealed source
radiotherapy3

Other

Conditions

Features and
equipment

¹ Also known as external-beam radiotherapy. ² Also known as sealed-source radiation therapy. ³ Also known as systemic radioisotope therapy.

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