Whether used alone or with surgery or chemotherapy, radiation therapy remains a common cancer treatment.

But today’s cutting-edge radiation techniques treat more cancers more effectively than any of their predecessors.

Radiation oncologists must target cancer cells while avoiding as much healthy tissue as possible. New technologies allow doctors to target specific areas with higher doses of radiation while minimizing damage to other areas. As a result, radiation treatments fight cancer more effectively while causing fewer side effects.

“At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), our integrated care model is designed to customize treatment plans for each individual patient so that they can maintain strength and their quality of life throughout treatment,” said Pablo Lavagnini, MD, radiation oncologist. “That individualized approach, along with a wide array of new technology, is making a difference in the lives of patients.”

One new linear accelerator, Varian Trilogy, is the first in a new generation of radiation technologies offering precise, versatile and efficient treatment tailored to help different types of cancer patients.

For example, with RapidArc radiotherapy, radiation oncologists can conform radiation to a tumor’s exact size and shape. RapidArc uses 2D or 3D imaging to deliver more accurate treatment in higher doses — the tumor gets a high dose of radiation, the healthy cells surrounding the tumor get less. For patients, this means shorter treatment times and fewer side effects.

Trilogy also allows for respiratory gating, a technique in which radiation is delivered at a single point in the breathing cycle. As a woman with breast cancer breathes, her tumor moves. If the radiation does not accommodate her breathing cycle, it risks hurting healthy tissue. Respiratory gating ensures that the radiation treats targets at a single point.

Patients with a rare lymphoma called Mycosis Fungoides benefit from a procedure called Total Skin Electron Therapy (TSET), which uses electrons to treat lymphoma without penetrating far into the body, thereby reducing side effects.

“New technologies allow us to tailor the treatment to the individual patient and individual tumor. One of the clear patient benefits we are seeing with the advanced radiation therapies of today is the speed of treatment,” said Lavagnini. “For patients who may be experiencing pain or discomfort, this is a huge quality-of-life benefit.”