Successful treatment outcome in radiation oncology is based on irradiation of tumor-bearing tissues to adequate, or curative, doses; and sparing of normal, or uninvolved, tissues from unnecessary radiation.

Recent improvements in powerful computer systems and treatment planning software allow physicians to visualize a patient's anatomy in three dimensions relative to the radiotherapy treatment machines which enables them to "conform" radiation dose more closely to the shape of an individual's tumor. Three-dimensional treatment planning improves the accuracy of planning, results in both better coverage of tumors and reduced treatment of normal tissues. Higher doses of radiation may be delivered to some tumors without increasing the risk of side effects of treatment. We routinely use 3D-CRT for all curative treatments.

IMRT is a more advanced form of radiation treatment. IMRT imparts a high dose of radiation to a localized tumor from multiple angles. Large number of very fine radiation beams of varying intensity target the tumour while minimizing dose to the surrounding healthy tissue. The result is that side effects are reduced, and the chance of eradicating the tumor is increased. We use IMRT for clinical situations where critical normal structures are very close to the tumor or when higher dose of radiation is required for tumor eradication.

(Also called Brachytherapy) uses these sealed radioactive sources for cancer treatment. These can be in the form needles, wires, seeds etc. Earlier internal radiation required hospital stay for 3 to 5 days in isolated rooms. But presently with HDR [High Dose Rate] brachytherapy available in our institution, the treatment can be taken as OPD basis, the time period of treatment is less than an hour. Internal radiation is usually delivered in one of two ways.

In Interstitial Radiation Therapy, the sources aredirectly inserted into the tumour under anesthesia. It is used to treat tumors of the head and neck, cervix, breast, limbs, perianal and pelvic regions.

Intracavitary or intraluminal radiation therapy is done by inserting tube (catheters /applicators) into the body cavities and passages to take the sources near the tumor. It is commonly used in the treatment of cancer of uterus cervix, vagina, esophagus [food pipe], trachea and bronchus [wind pipes in the neck and lungs], and gallbladder.

Stereotactic (or stereotaxic) radiosurgery uses a large single dose of radiation to a small target area within the head. The procedure does not involve actual surgery. Very high precision and accuracy is ensured by fixing a special frame, to the patient’ head with which the patient is scanned. These images are fed into sophisticated computers where they are fused with diagnostic scan images (MRI / MR angiogram /MDCT /DSA ). The target is localized precisely in dimensional space and radiation is delivered very accurately to the target sparing the nearby tissues. Some times steriotactic radiation is delivered in multiple fractions spread over several days. This is called steriotactic radiotherapy. The department has a linear accelerator based X- Knife for this procedure.The most common conditions treated are:

• Arteriovenous/vascular malformations
• Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Malignant and benign brain tumors
• Intracranial metastases
• Meningioma
• Acoustic tumors
• Pituitary tumours

Total body irradiation (TBI) gives a dose of radiation to the whole body. TBI is used for patients about to undergo a bone marrow or stem cell transplant to destroy any undetectable cancer cells and also to produce immune suppression in patients undergoing organ transplant so that the immune system will not attack the donor's cells during the transplant.

TBI can eradicate cancer cells in areas of the body that chemotherapy may not reach. However, the dose of radiation must be low enough so that the body's healthy cells can recover. For this reason, TBI alone cannot be used to destroy large numbers of cancer cells. Instead, the transplant preparative regimen uses TBI along with high-dose chemotherapy. Treatments are usually delivered one to three times a day for two to four days. The schedule will be based on the treatment plan (protocol) and the diagnosis and other factors. The treatment may be carried out in standing or lying down. Each treatment session may take 30 to 60 minutes. After completion of  radiation treatment patient will be scheduled for bone marrow transplant.

The department is equipped with strontium 90 ophthalmic applicator which is used to treat eye tumors (both benign and malignant) an example is recurrent pterygium which almost always recurs and each successive recur­rence a grave threat to the patient's vision and much more difficult to control. Postoperative radiation because of its simplicity, minimum morbidity, excellent cosmetic results and good cure rates. This applicator can also be used to treat other eye conditions like superficial conjunctival tumours is commonly recommended.