Prostate cancer remains the third most common cancer among Malaysian men. Several treatment options are available to treat prostate cancer. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an advanced form of radiotherapy that is faster and safer than conventional radiotherapy.
Beacon Hospital’s Dato Dr Mohamed Ibrahim A Wahid talks more about why SBRT should be the choice of treatment for prostate cancer in a recent webinar. This is the summary of his webinar.
Why Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)
More favourable results
Dato Dr Ibrahim stated that prostate cancer has a unique response to radiation, with more favorable results seen when exposed to larger doses of radiation over a shorter treatment period.
Unlike conventional radiotherapy, which delivers small doses of radiation over the course of 6 to 8 weeks, SBRT delivers high doses of radiation for as little as 1 to 3 weeks.
Dato Dr Ibrahim added, “Reducing the number of hospital visits from 40 to 20, or even 5 visits, will make a lot of difference for patients especially during the current pandemic.”
Radiation focused on the prostate
The prostate is located under the bladder and in front of the rectum. When treating prostate cancer, neighbouring organs are at risk of being exposed to excessive radiation due to the prostate’s position.
In comparison to other radiotherapy techniques, SBRT offers the smallest target area of radiation. While the method of delivering radiation specifically to the prostate is effective, it requires the use of a “tracker” to ensure that other organs are not exposed to radiation if and when the prostate moves.
With the help of image guided radiotherapy (IGRT), the prostate can be tracked and maximum radiation can be given to the tumor while minimizing damage to healthy surrounding tissues.
“IGRT enables accurate radiation beam treatment by continuously tracking the prostate using gold seeds to maintain an accuracy of less than 1mm. Any deviation will result in the beam shutting off.”, said Dato Dr Ibrahim.
Why Beacon Hospital Should Be Your Choice For SBRT
Being the pioneer for SBRT in Malaysia, we are equipped with the experience and the necessary technology to optimally deliver this highly specialized treatment.
With more than 10 years of experience in treating cancer using SBRT, expect only the best from us from the minute patients arrive at the hospital, until the completion of SBRT treatment.
At Beacon Hospital, we make use of state-of-the-art radiation machines such as the Truebeam 2.7 to deliver SBRT. The Truebeam 2.7 system enables the treatment of a wide variety of cancers by rotating and delivering precisely targeted radiation beams to tumors, while avoiding critical organs and healthy surrounding tissue to minimize side effects.
Do you know anyone who might benefit from Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy? If so, contact our medical enquiry team now for more information.
