Adaptive Radiation Therapy

Roswell Park is the only provider in the region with this advanced technology that offers a new level of personalized treatment.

In conventional radiation therapy, treatment is delivered to your tumor according to a carefully crafted plan. The radiation oncology team determines precisely where to target the radiation while taking care to limit the effect of radiation to surrounding healthy tissue. Each of your treatment sessions follow this plan.

However, throughout the course of treatment there can be changes within the body. Natural processes such as digestion can change the size and location of important normal structures. Additionally, certain types of tumors respond to radiation quicky causing them to shrink in size. With adaptive radiation therapy our radiation oncology team can identify these changes and make immediate adjustments to your treatment plan.

What is adaptive radiation therapy?

Adaptive radiation therapy is a type of external beam radiation therapy, which uses state-of-the-art technology to enable a linear accelerator (the machine that generates the radiation) to target your cancer.

This new technology, Ethos™ by Varian Medical Systems, uses artificial intelligence software to assess the status, shape, size and position of the tumor and nearby organs each day. This allows our team to adapt and personalize your treatment in real time.

Who can have adaptive radiation therapy?

Patients with tumors in an area where there is day to day variability. The treatment sites that could be considered for adaptive radiation therapy are those that are likely to have anatomical changes due to physiological processes or tumor response. Some examples include but are not limited to:

• Pelvis
• Abdomen
• Head and Neck
• Brain

The radiation oncology team will determine whether you could benefit from this treatment.

Benefits of adaptive radiation therapy

When determining a typical radiation treatment plan, radiation oncologists must take potential changes into consideration to avoid side effects caused by excess dose to normal tissue. This compromise may lead to a decreased dose to the tumor.

With adaptive radiation therapy, as the body changes, oncologists can ensure that the treatment plan is optimized to fit the patient each day. This allows our team to:

• Deliver more effective radiation treatment to the tumor
• Decrease the amount of radiation to normal, healthy tissues
• Reduce the risk for side effects

Why Roswell Park for adaptive radiation therapy

As an elite comprehensive cancer center, designated by the National Cancer Institute, Roswell Park is at the forefront of the latest advances in cancer treatment. It takes a dedicated, highly experienced radiation oncology team to integrate new technologies into patient care safely and in a way that enhances effective cancer treatment.