About Radiation Oncology
Radiation oncology is that discipline of human medicine concerned with the generation, conservation, and dissemination of knowledge concerning the causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer, tumors and other diseases involving special expertise in the therapeutic application of ionising radiation. Being a unique discipline at the juncture of physics and biology, radiation oncology addresses the therapeutic use of ionising radiation, either sealed radioactive source, high energy x-rays or subatomic particles like electrons and protons.
Majority of cancer patients need radiation therapy at some point of time during their cancer journey. There are two main types of radiation therapy, external beam and brachytherapy. External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT), in which radiation source is placed at a distance from the patient’s body and is delivered by teletherapy machine (usually linear accelerator). EBRT involves several daily treatments (fractions) on an outpatient basis over the course of few days to a few weeks. Brachytherapy is a form of radiotherapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. It can be used alone or in combination with EBRT and commonly used for cervical, prostate, breast, head & neck, soft tissue and skin cancer. Brachytherapy is an important organ and function preserving treatment modality giving a good cosmetic effect as well.
Department of Radiation Oncology at AIIMS, Nagpur was established in February 2021 with a vision to provide center of excellence in neoplasm (benign tumors and cancer) care, academics, research and training. The department intends to provide ‘State of Art’ facilities for individualized, equitable and affordable treatment for a quality oncological outcome in central India. External Beam Radiation Treatment of patients commenced on 23rd August 2022 and brachytherapy services started on 10th May 2024. Department is contributing to National Cancer Registry through Hospital Based Cancer Registry project under NCDIR-ICMR.
The department is equipped with
- High energy Linear Accelerator (Versa HD)
- 4D CT Simulator (Siemens RT Pro)
- Ir192 HDR Brachytherapy Remote After-loader (Flexitron – 20 channel)
- High Energy Linear Accelerator (True Beam)(Under installation)
“Don’t give up. Cancer can be Conquered”