Radiation Oncology Division

Introduction

Radiation therapy (RT) plays an essential role in the management of cancer patients. It is used (1) as a curative treatment for many patients with malignant disease, (2) as integrated therapy along with chemotherapy and surgery, and (3) as palliative treatment for patients in whom curative treatment is not an option. The dose of radiation delivered to the tumor must be as high as possible, while that delivered to the surrounding normal tissues should be as low as possible. 　The focus of the Radiation Oncology Division is to develop, evaluate, and expand the role of RT in cancer treatment. Establishing optimal irradiation techniques, including proton treatment, is also an important goal of the Division.

Routine Activities

The Radiation Oncology Division includes 5 consultant physicians, 11 radiation technologists, 4 medical physicists, 1 nurse, and 1 clerk. Physicians and medical physicists together perform conventional radiotherapy and proton beam therapy. A conference on treatment planning and verification is conducted once every week in the evening in addition to a weekly journal club meeting and a monthly work conference.
Treatment is generally based on achievement of isodose distributions by three-dimensional planning and that is performed by RT-dedicated multidetector-row helical CT scanning in order to confirm the radiation dose to the tumor. More than 1,100 new patients were treated annually, and more than 30 clinical trials involving RT as the sole or a combined treatment modality for various cancers are in progress.
The section dealing with conventional (photon-electron) treatment is equipped with 4 treatment machines (3 linear accelerators and a high dose rate brachytherapy unit), a CT simulator, 4 treatment planning computer workstations, and many other devices. In April 2007, the Japanese government approved intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) as an advanced medical technology.
The section dealing with proton therapy comprises 5 operating staff members and 1 technician for fabricating the compensator and the aperture; they are sent from the manufacturing companies and work in collaboration with the other staff members of the Division. One rotational gantry treatment room is routinely used.
Quality assurance and regular maintenance of the machines is also important for precise treatment delivery.

● T. Ogino ●

Number of patients treated with radiotherapy during 2003-2007
  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
New patients 1010 1124 1137 1146 1097
New treatments 1200 1308 1384 1418 1363
Head & Neck Cancers 199 238 259 270 249
Lung & Mediastinal Cancers 354 350 393 395 391
Breast Cancers 202 251 294 300 296
Gastrointestinal Cancers 259 282 242 242 202
Hepatobiliary Tract Cancers 63 37 52 54 63
Urological Cancers 60 70 74 94 144
Bone & Soft Tissue Cancers 4 11 12 6 8
Hematological Cancers 41 51 39 38 25
Others 18 18 19 19 15
Proton Therapy 69 76 75 81 90
IMRT     6 4 31

Table of Contents