Treatment times are reduced by fractionated radiotherapy

In order to provide more effective and less invasive treatment for patients, the fight against cancer is a key area of medicine where innovation is most prevalent. Hypofractionated radiotherapy is a method that uses a higher dose of radiation daily to treat cancer patients. This reduces the need for as many sessions, but still achieves the same healing effect.

This system is more efficient in terms of logistics and therapeutic approaches, as the patient does not have to travel as often to the hospital. Hypofractionated radiotherapy, while not new, is still used for advanced patients.

"The impossibility of conforming to the dose precisely caused the limitation of its use," Dr. Marco Panichi, director of Institute of Advanced Oncology of Atrys and Sanitas, explains. Radiation can cause serious side effects in healthy organs.

Panichi says that the technology available, with the use of multienergy linear accelerators, "have allowed us to more precisely define the area where therapy should be applied, while protecting healthy organs from radiation." They are also high-precision equipment which allows for selectively applying high doses without affecting other healthy organs and structures.

The doctor explained that radiography has improved so much that high-resolution images can now be taken. This allows for early diagnosis and the selection of patients who can receive this type of radiotherapy. He says, "Now you can tell if a tumor needs to be treated or not" without needing to perform a biopsy. He says that the equipment is accurate and quick, which allows us better monitor patients. However, he also emphasizes "the human resource behind these techniques", as these professionals "have "to be trained to use these advanced techniques.

Panichi also explained that hypofractionated radiotherapy is able to be applied to up to 80% tumors. This technique, for example, allows only 28 treatment sessions in prostate cancer, where previously 40 were common. This reduction also allows for