Radiogenic Risk in Normal Tissues of Cancer Patients Receiving Radiotherapy

摘要

Because of its effectiveness in causing lethal damage to cancer cells and yielding local tumor control, radiotherapy is an important component of most curative cancer treatments. In radiotherapy, very high doses of radiation are delivered deliberately to patients, with the goal of conforming a prescribed radiation dose to the clinical target and nearby tissues. In this process, radiation absorbed dose damages organs and tissues both from therapeutic radiation within the treatment fields and stray radiation outside the treatment fields. Stray radiation originates either in the treatment unit or in the patient and has no known therapeutic benefit. Over the past decade, our understanding of these exposures and secondary effects has grown immensely. In this presentation, we will discuss the radiogenic risks in normal tissues of cancer patients receiving radiotherapy, with a particular focus on late effects and what is being done to reduce the risks.