Radiotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Radiotherapy, including details on cancer treatment, side effects.

Stereotactic radiosurgery and radiation therapy for spinal tumors.

Lo SS, Chang EL, Yamada Y, Sloan AE, Suh JH, Mendel E

Department of Radiation Medicine, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. simon.lo@osumc.edu

Spinal tumors constitute 15% of all CNS neoplasms. Radiation therapy can be administered for palliation of pain and spinal cord compression. However, the amount of radiation that can be administered is often limited by the tolerance of the spinal cord, especially in cases where prior radiation therapy has been given. Stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy allow the delivery of a higher dose of radiation to spinal lesions, while limiting the spinal cord dose to below the tolerance level. These are technically demanding procedures and should be performed only when proper equipment and expertise are available. Data on spinal stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy have emerged in recent years. This review summarizes the clinical applications of stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy for spinal tumors.

Published 25 December 2006 in Expert Rev Neurother, 7(1): 85-93.
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