What are the different types of radiation treatment?
Doctors use external and internal types of radiation therapy to treat brain tumours. External beam radiation therapy Fractionated external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is the most common method of radiation therapy used for people with brain tumours. A large machine outside the body aims beams of radiation at the head. Because cancer cells may invade normal tissue around a tumour, the radiation may be aimed at the tumour and nearby brain tissue, or at the entire brain. Some people will also need radiation aimed at the spinal cord. EBRT also includes the following. Not all of these are yet standard practice in the UK: • 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT): this is best for patients whose condition requires treatment that extends to a margin around the tumour to account for microscopic disease. This type of treatment uses computers to closely target the brain tumor to lessen the damage to healthy tissue. Images are used in a 3D model so that the beams can be arranged in a
