Navigation and service

Radiation therapy

In radiation therapy ionising radiation is used for therapeutic purposes. Radiation therapy (radiotherapy) constitutes the third pillar of modern cancer therapy besides surgery and chemotherapy. In many cases, so-called multimodal therapy approaches are used. These approaches combine various treatment options. The surgical removal of a tumour, for example, can be followed by a combined radiochemotherapy (radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy).

Woman getting radiotherapy against breast cancerSource: Mark Kostich via Getty Images

What is radiation therapy?

Radiation therapy (radiotherapy) constitutes the third pillar of modern cancer therapy besides surgery and chemotherapy. The treatment with ionising radiation keeps tumours under control or destroys them.

Radiotherapy treatment planning

Any subsequent irradiation is generally based on three-dimensional radiotherapy treatment planning. To that end, a computed tomography scan providing a three-dimensional image data set is done.

Radiation protection in radiation therapy

In order to keep a tumour under control, a sufficiently high dose of radiation is necessary. In many cases, a higher dose leads to a higher likelihood of cure. On the other hand, radiation-sensitive organs at risk surrounding the tumour should be spared as much as possible.

Types of radiation therapy

In radiation therapy, a distinction is made between teletherapy (external beam radiation therapy) and brachytherapy.

Radiotherapy techniques

In the simplest case, rectangular fields are employed in radiotherapy. Two radiation fields irradiated from opposite directions are referred to as opposing fields.

Site information and functions

© Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz