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:
- Conformal (tighter) dose distribution around tumor
- Avoidance of critical structures and less local toxicity
- Computer-generated optimization
Disadvantage: Treatment time often longer (15-20mts)