Image guided radiotherapy

Image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) takes detailed images and cross-sectional scans of the tumour before and during treatment for extremely accurate and effective targeting of external beam radiotherapy.

IGRT lets us check each radiotherapy beam is targeting the tumour and not healthy tissue, increasing effectiveness.

With conventional radiotherapy, CT scans of the tumour are only taken during the planning stage of treatment. Radiotherapy is then given at later sessions based on those images. However tumours can change position in relation to nearby organs, depending on movement or how full those organs are at the time of treatment. Breathing can also affect the position of some tumours. This increases the risk of part of the tumour being missed and therefore not treated, as well as healthy tissue being damaged. In some circumstances the size and shape of a tumour may change as it shrinks in response to the radiotherapy or other treatments happening concurrently, such as chemotherapy.

All Cancer Partners UK linacs incorporate x-ray scanners that take these detailed images. We can then make sure you are in exactly the right position for treatment and can design the radiotherapy beam to target the whole tumour with only a small margin around it. By using IGRT, we can ensure accurate targeting of the radiotherapy beams, maximising the effectiveness of your treatment.

IGRT can be used in conjunction with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) to further increase the effectiveness of treatment.

Cancer Partners UK offers cancer treatment for a wide range of cancers using external beam radiotherapy. We use the uses the latest advancements in radiotherapy technology to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment and reduce side effects.

Find out more about the cancers we can treat.