Radiation therapy department of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital has started treating patients with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). According to the hospital's spokesman, IMRT only available at SKMCH in Pakistan, is the latest technology in radiation treatment and is a highly effective method for destroying cancerous tumours with minimal side effects to the patient.
This technique could improve the treatment of many different cancers. Currently, IMRT is being used to treat a wide variety of cancers and has a significant role in the treatment of prostate, brain, head and neck and breast tumours, he added.
Highly focused nature of IMRT allows for the higher doses to be delivered to the tumour with sparing of normal tissue. Patients undergoing IMRT are at an advantage because not only the risk of radiotherapy side effects is reduced in comparison to other forms of radiation treatments but also the chances of cure are improved due to high radiation dose to the cancerous cells.
Treatment with IMRT requires complex planning using three-dimensional CAT scan images of the patient.