CancerPreventionReport.com describes IMRT. Excerpts below.
Link: Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy
The latest technique is called Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy or IMRT, which has only recently been used to pinpoint tumors, so it is still very expensive. IMRT uses a computer to drive an x-ray gun that will focus the radiation on the tumor, going around veins and normal tissue.
The special computer has an image of the precise location and size of the tumor so it can plot out a “plan of attack”. The pinpoint beam hits the tumor from different angles, lessening the damage to surrounding cells.
Many benefits have been seen from this treatment. Typically, patients experience fewer side effects since normal cells are not harmed. Physicians can more accurately “hit” the tumor with radiation. This will lower the chance that some of the cancer cells were missed (if any are missed, it will just grow back). Also, there should be less chance of the formation of secondary tumors later in the patients life since there will be less damage to normal cells in the surrounding area.
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