High Precision

Advanced radiation therapy means faster treatments, fewer side effects

The normal cells in your body have the ability to repair their DNA if it gets damaged. Cancer cells usually lose that ability. They die and the body breaks them down and removes them. That’s why radiation therapy, which sends beams of high-energy radiation toward a tumor in order to inflict DNA damage, is such an effective treatment for many types of cancer.

Higher doses of radiation inflict greater damage, and more quickly. But because of the healthy tissue nearby, high-dose radiation must be incredibly precise.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT, can provide that advanced precision.

“We can specifically design multiple beam angles to deliver high doses of radiation directly to the tumor, while the dose gradient outside the tumor, meaning the fall off of the dose, is very sharp and rapid,” explains Stephen Ramey, MD, radiation oncologist with the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion (LCRP). “This allows for a much shorter course of radiation and a reduction in side effects.”

How Does It Work?

SBRT uses advanced, four-dimensional imaging to accurately localize tumors prior to treatment. Patients will undergo a treatment planning procedure called a simulation to ensure that the radiation dose is accurate and that it avoids healthy tissue as much as possible.

Before each SBRT session, patients undergo repeat scans to confirm that their positioning on the treatment table is correct. Then they are ready for treatment to begin.

Separate beams of radiation converge on the tumor, creating the highly-concentrated dose. It is a non-invasive and painless procedure that only takes about 30-60 minutes to complete each time. With the larger dose to a precisely-targeted area, patients are able to complete treatment in five sessions or fewer.

“It’s pretty amazing to see patients treated so quickly and effectively, often with almost no side effects,” Dr. Ramey says.

What Does It Treat?

SBRT is commonly used to treat localized tumors or metastases (malignant growths spread from another location) in the lungs, prostate, bone, pancreas, liver, brain (single high-dose treatments to the brain are known as stereotactic radiosurgery, or SRS) and lymph nodes.

“This treatment works especially well for lung cancer, particularly for tumors on the periphery of the lung where there are not as many critical structures close by,” Dr. Ramey says. “Most people with these cases have no side effects other than fatigue during the treatment.”

For patients with lung cancer who are not good candidates for surgical removal of the tumor, SBRT offers similar cure rates. In some cases, the patient can consult with Dr. Ramey, a cardiothoracic surgeon and an interventional pulmonologist in a multi-disciplinary setting.

“We’ll walk them through both surgery and radiation and what would be involved in each of those and help them make the best decision for them,” Dr. Ramey says.

Expanding The Opportunities

SBRT is not appropriate for all cancer patients. For example, if a tumor is invading the bowel or stomach and it responds quickly to SBRT, this could leave a hole in the digestive system. Patients with multiple areas of cancer growth, such as when lung cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, may also need the conventional therapy schedule of 30 to 35 treatments over several weeks.

Dr. Ramey is encouraged, however, by how the applications of SBRT have continued to advance.

“We are utilizing SBRT for more and more sites now, and moving forward I think we can keep expanding the opportunities for patients with cancer,” Dr. Ramey says. “At the same time, updates to radiation therapy technology has improved the way we do our targeting and our planning, so that we can delivery even safer treatments.” 

Lung Cancer Rapid Access Team

The LCRP created a Lung Cancer Rapid Access Team in an effort to expedite treatment. The program is designed for patients that have pulmonary abnormalities found on a scan or those recently diagnosed with lung cancer. A physician’s referral is required to participate. Eligible patients will come to the LCRP in Savannah at 225 Candler Drive.

The Lung Cancer Rapid Access Team takes a multi-disciplinary approach to treating each individual patient, and it includes several specialty physicians. For more information, call oncology nurse navigator Kaitlyn Youmans at 912-819-5169.