How beneficial is IMRT compared to conventional radiotherapy for brain tumors?

Some doctors say that for big tumors, IMRT is not as beneficial compared to conventional radiotherapy

What kind of brain tumor is it?

There is another kind of radiation called proton (as opposed to traditional Photon beam) that can in some cases be more beneficial as it can be better directed to minimize the ancillary damage of the fields to healthy tissue like the thyoid gland and cochlear area - hearing, while maximizing the impact on the cancerous tissues.

There are a few places in the world that do it presently.
with kind and gentle regards,

David Edge
Founder Yahoo Parental support group Pediatric Brain
Tumors
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ped...

It depends on the type of tumor, the size, location, the age of the patient, and the seriousness of the symptoms.

IMRT is not a cure-all for brain tumors. Many patients can't have it. I can't ~ I have meningiomas that are throughout my entire brain, skull base, fused into my left jaw bone and left side of my face, left eustacian tube, around my carotid artery and left optic nerve.

Due to the extent of the tumors I had to have traditional surgery.

If the tumors are thought to be benign and are located in one area only, that is when doctors are more likely to use IMRT. Gamma Knife as well. But again, not everyone qualifies for IMRT or radiotherapy.

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