Oncology

Oncology is the medical discipline that specializes in cancer treatment. There are three sub-types of oncology, including:

1. Medical Oncology – specializes in cancer treatment utilizing infusion therapy also known as chemotherapy or “chemo.” Medical Oncology is sometimes referred to as hematology/oncology because many oncologists have dual-accreditation, such that they also specialize in treating disorders of the blood and bone marrow.
   
   
2. Surgical Oncology - specializes in cancer surgery, with the purpose of either removing the malignant tissues and/or for palliative treatment (to relieve pain and other symptoms interfering with quality of life).
   
   
3. Radiation Oncology - specializes in treating cancer patients with radiation therapy for the purpose of curing the disease or else for palliation. It may be used in addition to surgery and/or chemotherapy, and may be administered at different phases of treatment, as planned by the oncology team.

There are several types of Radiation Therapy, including:

1. External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) or conventional radiation therapy. Typical energies range from 6 to 25 MeV.
   • Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) – CT imaging is used in treatment planning to regulate the intensity and shape of the radiation beam such that it conforms to the size and shape of the tumor
   • Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) – Real-time CT imaging is used to make real-time adjustments in the beam, increasing accuracy and decreasing collateral damage to healthy cells.
   • Radiosurgery (including Stereotactic Radiosurgery or SRS and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy or SBRT). Radiosurgery is more often referred to by brand name, such as Axesse, Cyberknife, Gamma Knife, Novalis, Primatom, Synergy, X-Knife, TomoTherapy and Trilogy
   • Total Body Irradiation (TBI) – typically used to prepare the body for transplantation of bone marrow or stem cells
     
     
2. Brachytherapy (also referred to as internal radiotherapy, sealed source radiotherapy, curietherapy or endocurietherapy) – a radiation source is implanted in the body, near or directly inside the tumor. Common radiation sources utilized in brachytherapy include Cesium-137, Iridium-192, Cobalt-60, Iodine-125, Palladium-103, and Ruthenium-106. There are several Brachytherapy treatment options available:
   • Low-Dose Rate (LDR) - low emission radiation at a rate of up to 2 Gy/hr-1
   • Medium-Dose Rate (MDR) - the doses of radiation delivered fall in a mid-range of 2 Gy/hr-1 to 12 Gy/hr-1
   • High-Dose Rate (HDR) - dose rates exceed 12 Gy/hr-1 d.
   • Pulsed-Dose Rate (PDR)- short pulses of radiation are emitted, typically once an hour, to simulate the overall rate and effectiveness of LDR treatment.
     
     
3. Particle Therapy
   • Proton Therapy - the most prevalant form of particle therapy to date, and the only FDA-approved form. Proton therapy utilizes protons, with typical energies ranging from 70 to 250 MeV. Proton therapy boasts fewer side effects than conventional radiation therapy; protons' large mass prohibits lateral scatter and a narrow pencil beam conforms to the shape of the tumor. By adjusting the energy, radiation oncologists can adjust the depth of the Bragg Peak, reducing the radiation dose to healthy tissue in front of the tumor, and almost completely sparing healthy tissue obscured by the tumor.
   • Fast Neutron Therapy - produced from proton beams impinging upon beryllium targets, fast neutron therapy involves the emission of high energy neutrons at an energy exceeding 20 MeV. Fast neutron therapy is relatively uncommon.
   • Heavy Ion Therapy – typically carbon ions, some facilities feature hybrid equipment that produces both carbon ions and protons. Carbon ions are, in theory, the most effective radiation treatment because their high density of ionization causes the most damage to cancer cells, disabling their ability to repair themselves. While carbon is the only effective treatment for certain types of cancer, it may still cause more damage than protons due to the dose beyond the Bragg peak, which does not decrease to zero.

It is the latter, radiation oncology, in which Veritas has a particular, vested interest. Veritas has honed the approach to shielding, bringing it from necessary and merely effective to an aesthetic and precise science that will inspire staff and comfort patients. Veritas strives to remain current in the latest technologies and developments in the field of radiation oncology so that we may offer our clients a single-source solution for the effective and efficient procurement of cancer treatment rooms.

Veritas has designed pre-engineered packages to shield for all of the aforementioned treatments, machine vendors (including Varian, Elekta, IBA, StillRiver, ProTom, Siemens and all of the above-named radiosurgical machines and manufacturers), models, and energies. For more information about cancer and specific resources, please visit the following sites:

http://www.oncolink.org

http://www.cancer.org

http://www.livestrong.org

http://www.standup2cancer.org

http://www.acor.org

http://www.cancer.gov

http://www.astro.org

http://www.greenhopecharities.com