May 28th, 2008—A new book, “Image-Guided Radiation Therapy of Prostate Cancer,” is reportedly the first book of its kind to provide information on recommended RT doses, fractionation schedules, target volume delineation and IGRT procedures and policies.
To date, the specific causes of prostate cancer remain unknown; however, among men, prostate cancer is the most common and the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. Surgery and radiation therapy are the two most common of the treatment options available.
The holy grail of radiation treatment is precision. That goal now seems closer than ever with new image-guided methods such as PET-CT, 4D-CT and IMRT, which have been shown to provide better targeting accuracy, allowing clinicians to safely increase the dosage administered without increasing toxicity to healthy tissue areas, said the company.
However, accurate dose delivery - as well as dose verification - can present technical challenges. New techniques such as in situ dosimetry, daily dose measurements, robot assisted bracytherapy, deformable registration and dose painting with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) all show early promise. Their ongoing evolution ensures the dual prospect of lower toxicity levels and stronger more effective radiation doses coexisting within a successful treatment plan that still manages to deliver less side effects than conventional radiotherapy.
Although IGRT is still in its infancy, its use is more advanced in prostate cancer than other malignancies.
Edited by Richard Valicenti, M.D., Adam Dicker, M.D., and David Jaffray, M.D., the book provides disease stage-specific IGRT guidelines and step-by-step description of current techniques, providing information of critical importance to radiation oncologists, radiologists, urologists and other professionals working in the field.
For more information: www.informahealthcare.com
June 07, 2022 
