Adaptive Radiation Therapy

Up until now, when using techniques such as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) or Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), the oncology team created a single treatment plan before the start of therapy — and that same plan was used throughout the entire course of treatment.

Adaptive Radiation Therapy is a new technology that allows the oncology team to create a new treatment plan before each treatment session as needed. This allows for improved accuracy in the treatment process. Improved accuracy leads to more eff­ective treatment of the tumor, and less risk to adjacent normal tissues.

Whether your treatment plan calls for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) or Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SMRT) treatment session, Adaptive Radiation Therapy using Ethos can assist your radiation oncology team by accounting for daily anatomical changes, which can include daily variations in the size or location of your tumor or normal neighboring tissues.

Such changes may warrant an adjustment to your treatment dose or location. This means your plan can be highly personalized and more precise than ever before!

When radiation is planned for cancer treatment, it often begins with a single body scan to determine where and how much radiation is to be delivered.

Ethos goes a step further.

This revolutionary approach to radiation therapy adds unmatched flexibility to your treatment plan, allowing for at-the-moment adjustments to be made from one session to the next.

Because it takes place just prior to each of your scheduled radiation sessions, Ethos provides in-the-moment details that enable your oncologist to make last-minute adjustments to your radiation treatment. Adjustments might include a slight alteration in the dosage and/or delivery location since your last session due to changes in:

• Weight loss or weight gain that may alter your tumor
• Tiny gas or air bubbles that could alter your tumor’s location
• The size or location of your tumor
• The size or location of nearby organs

This additional, in-the-moment step provides your doctor with the precise information needed to enable precise targeting of radiation while minimizing harm to nearby tissue.

Radiation treatment plans typically include the following steps:

• Consultation: A meeting with your radiation oncologist to discuss your particular case, and learn about treatment recommendations and options.
• Marker and spacer placement: This step is often performed for prostate cancer treatments and is a short procedure to place several gold “markers” into the prostate to ensure targeting and daily alignments with the radiation beam. A material such as a gel or other substances may be injected between the prostate and the rectum (called a “rectal spacer”) to optimize the distance between these structures, in order to reduce the risk of side eff­ects.
• Imaging and planning: About a week later, a planning session, or “simulation”, takes place, which may include CT and MRI scans. This allows the physician and physics team to begin radiation mapping and modeling the tumor and normal surrounding tissues to create a precise “blueprint” or treatment plan.
• Treatment delivery: During treatment, the Ethos system creates a high-quality, on-board scan to evaluate the anatomy in-the-moment. Built-in artificial intelligence allows the physician to adapt the plan in real-time if changes to optimize the treatment plan to the patient’s anatomy warrant it.
• Treatment sessions: Once our radiation staff­ reviews and approves the treatment plan, treatment takes only 5-10 minutes. Total time for an entire daily session is typically only 20-25 minutes.

Ask your physician if Ethos is right for you.