Daily topics 丨 Why do radiotherapy once a day and 5 times a week?

Xie Jiacun, Henan Provincial People's Hospital

Radiation therapy abbreviated radiotherapy is X -ray, electronic lines, proton beams and other particulate beams generated by α, β, γ -rays or accelerators generated by radioactive homogencin to treat malignant tumors.

According to statistics, 70%of patients with tumor need radiotherapy at different stages of treatment. The radiotherapy is strong and the complexity is high, and patients and their families often "talk about nuclear changes", so there are often many questions or misunderstandings about radiation therapy.

Question 1: Have been hospitalized for several days, can you not radiotherapy?

Radiotherapy is a method of multi -link and multi -professional mutual cooperation. The treatment process includes clinical assessment, CT positioning, target area drawing, planning design and evaluation, dose verification and positioning.

It is indispensable for each link, and the entire process takes about 3 to 5 days. Doctors and radiotherapy physicists will formulate individualized precision treatment solutions based on the actual situation of the patient, so patients need to wait patiently.

Question 2: Why should radiotherapy take it once a day and 5 times a week? Can you do it quickly?

Radiotherapy not only kills tumor cells, but also damages normal tissue. The killing effect of radiation on tumor cells is related to the proliferation cycle of tumor cells and the oxygen content of cells. Subtral radiotherapy can kill tumor cells with different proliferation cycles, and at the same time, the treatment gap is also conducive to the damage repair of normal cells.

Therefore, the treatment is to better kill the tumor while reducing the damage of normal tissue. The standard treatment model of 1 and 5 times a day is a better radiotherapy mode summarized by decades of experience.

At present, there are also super -division or large -scale treatment models. During the treatment, doctors and radiotherapists choose the appropriate treatment mode according to the specific conditions of the patient.

Question 3: After many CT examinations, why do you have to do during radiotherapy?

CT during radiotherapy can be divided into positioning CT and verification CBCT (cone beam CT). Positioning CT is a CT scanned on a dedicated radiotherapy CT simulation positioning machine during a fixed position. The treatment should be highly consistent with the position.

At the same time, doctors and physicians must also outline the target area and plan on the positioning of CT images. Verifying CBCT is scanned before the treatment, and is used to compare CT to eliminate position errors and ensure the treatment accuracy.

Therefore, the CT done during radiotherapy is not the same as the CT examination of the usual video department, and it must be done.

Question 4: Isn't radiotherapy "baking electricity"? Why not hot during treatment?

"Baking electricity" is the common name of the people for radiotherapy. Radiation can directly destroy the DNA of tumor cells or indirectly injury tumor cells by reacting with water molecules.

There is no obvious thermal effect during the irradiation, nor will there be other discomfort, so the patient does not feel the heat.

Question 5: Does the body radiate after radiotherapy, will it affect the people around you?

The conventional external illumination or internal irradiation can only be radiated when treatment. The energy disappears after the response of the rays entering the human body, and there is no radiation to the outside world after radiotherapy.

However, if radioactive particles are implanted in the body, there will be certain radiation. In this case, patients should follow the doctor's advice.

Question 6: Is there a lot of radiotherapy side reactions?

Radiotherapy is a local treatment method that causes certain damage to the normal tissue around the tumor, and it is generally no damage to normal tissues in the distance.

When designing and treating plans, doctors and radiotherapy physicists will protect the normal tissue within the tolerance dose as much as possible. If there is any discomfort during radiotherapy, patients should communicate with the doctor in time and handle the doctor's advice.

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