IMRT: “Fighting cancer while painting dose”

Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) is advanced type of high-precision radiation that is the next generation of 3D-CRT. It improves the ability to conform the treatment volume to concave tumor shapes, for example when the tumor is wrapped around a vulnerable structure such as the spinal cord or a major organ or blood vessel.

Advantages:

1. Conformal (tighter) dose distribution around tumor
2. Avoidance of critical structures and less local toxicity
3. Computer-generated optimization

 Disadvantage: Treatment time often longer (15-20mts)