CancerQuest | Goals of Radiation Therapy

There are several different possible goals of radiation treatment:

Curative: For curative purposes, treatment is usually prolonged. Reactions to the radiation range from mild to severe.

Relief from Symptoms: This treatment seeks to relieve symptoms of the cancer and to prolong survival, making life more comfortable. This type of treatment is not necessarily done with the intent of curing the patient. Frequently this type of treatment is done to prevent or eliminate pain caused by cancer that has metastasized to bones.

Radiation instead of surgery: Radiation in place of surgery is effective against a limited number of cancers. The treatment is most effective if the cancers are caught early while still small and non-metastatic. Radiation may be used instead of surgery if the location of the cancer makes surgery difficult or impossible to perform without severe risks to the patient. Surgery is the preferred treatment for lesions that are located in an area where radiation treatment might cause more damage than the surgery. The time that it takes for the two treatments is also very different. Surgery can be performed quickly after a diagnosis; radiation treatment may take weeks to be fully effective.

There are pros and cons for both procedures. Radiation therapy can be used to preserve organs and/or to avoid surgery and its risks. Radiation destroys rapidly dividing cells within the tumor, while surgical procedures may miss some of the outer cells. However, large tumor masses often contain oxygen-poor cells in the center that do not divide as rapidly as the cells near the surface of the tumor. Because these cells are not rapidly dividing, they are not as sensitive to radiation therapy. For this reason, larger tumors cannot be destroyed with radiation alone. Radiation and surgery are often combined during treatment.⁽¹⁾