Radiation therapy, radiation treatment, radiotherapy, radiooncology or colloquially radiation uses various rays to treat diseases; these include, for example, X-rays or electron beams. The mechanism of action is that the influence of radiation therapy destroys the DNA (which contains the genetic information) of diseased cells – such as tumor cells. A cell damaged in this way cannot reproduce further or even dies. Tumor cells are more sensitive to radiation therapy than healthy cells and are less able to repair themselves – so it is possible to destroy tumor cells while damaging as few healthy cells as possible. To achieve this, the dose and duration of radiation therapy are determined individually in each case.
Application
Radiation therapy is used in the treatment of both benign and malignant cancers. Radiation therapy is used in the treatment of both benign and malignant cancers. The majority of treated cases are malignant diseases. Depending on the location and nature of a tumor, radiation therapy is delivered in a variety of ways; for example, the rays may strike a patient from a slightly distant device or they may emerge from materials attached to a patient’s body or in body cavities. In some cases, radiation therapy is given in combination with surgical procedures. In this case, radiation therapy may be timed to occur before surgery, during a surgical procedure, or it may be used as a postoperative treatment. Radiation therapy during surgery can be useful, for example, if radiation has to be applied that the skin cannot tolerate. The dosage of radiation therapy depends on the disease at hand:
For example, if there is a fast-growing pharyngeal cancer, it may make sense to string together several radiation units in one day; this greatly increases the effectiveness of the radiation therapy, although it may also lead to increased side effects. In addition to the temporal frequency of radiation therapy, different beams also have different dose units:
While some beams are used that penetrate very deeply into the tissue, radiation therapy also uses beams that exert their effect closer to the skin. The latter is useful, for example, when tumors are to be reached in tissue that lies in front of organs that are not to be affected by the radiation (as is the case with the heart). An example of this is radiation therapy for breast cancer. In order to protect the skin, radiation that is delivered to the patient from a short distance does not take effect until it has penetrated the skin.
Side effects and dangers
Radiation doses administered in the course of radiotherapy are matched to a patient’s clinical picture with as little risk as possible. However, depending on the radiation dose associated with radiation therapy, the therapy still poses health risks. It makes no difference whether a single high dose or several small doses affect the body. In the case of slight radiation damage caused by radiation doses of a certain level, one speaks of a so-called radiation hangover: it can become noticeable through headaches, nausea or [[vomiting]6. After whole-body applications of radiation therapy above a certain limit, a so-called radiation syndrome can develop: Such a syndrome due to radiation therapy may be manifested by diarrhea, bleeding, or loss of body hair. Possible late effects of radiation therapy of a certain dose may develop weeks to years after therapy. Such consequences include, for example, retarded growth in children, degeneration of tissue, or an influence on the genetic makeup.
