Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy

Overview

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a powerful cancer-fighting technology. Annually, Mayo Clinic radiation oncologists treat more than 200 patients using IMRT.

Conditions Treated with IMRT

Oncologists consider IMRT to be ideal for prostate cancer as well as benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck, and other organs that lie near important body parts such as the eyes, optic nerves, brain, brain stem, salivary glands, bladder, rectum, small bowel, kidneys, liver, lung and spinal cord.

How It Works

A more standard radiation therapy called three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3-D CRT) uses digital diagnostic imaging, computers and special software to conform the radiation beam to the shape of the tumor. IMRT is the latest advance in 3-D CRT technology. IMRT involves the use of varying intensities of hundreds of small radiation beams to produce dosage distributions that are more precise (conformal) than those possible with 3-D CRT. Read more about how IMRT works.

Advantages of IMRT

The advantages of IMRT, compared to traditional radiation therapies, include:

• Decreased radiation to normal sensitive surrounding tissue
• Decreased chance of harming normal cells
• Higher radiation dosage to cancer cells
• Precise radiation distribution
• Increased chance of destroying cancer cells

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