A new standard in precision cancer treatment.
Adaptive radiotherapy is an approach that adjusts your radiation plan daily, accounting for changes in your anatomy. It allows for safer, faster, and more focused treatment.
The limits of conventional radiation
In conventional radiation therapy, a treatment plan is created once, based on a single CT scan taken weeks before treatment begins. That same plan is then used for 20 to 45 sessions.
Your body is not static. Tumors shrink as they respond to treatment. Internal organs like the bladder and rectum fill and empty, shifting day to day. Breathing causes constant movement.
How adaptive radiotherapy solves this
Adaptive radiotherapy takes new 3D images of your anatomy at every single session while you are on the treatment table. Advanced software then recalculates and optimizes the radiation delivery for your exact anatomy in that moment.
- Daily Imaging — High-resolution 3D scans reveal exactly where the tumor and organs are today.
- Live Re-planning — The plan is recalculated to hit the target and avoid healthy tissue.
- Precise Delivery — Sub-millimeter targeting allows for higher, safer doses in fewer days.
Key terms explained
- Fraction — A single radiation treatment session. Adaptive radiotherapy often uses far fewer, larger fractions.
- Simulation — The planning scan taken before treatment begins.
- Margin — Extra space added around a tumor to account for uncertainty. Smaller margins mean less healthy tissue is exposed.
- Hypofractionation — Delivering a higher dose of radiation in fewer sessions. Daily adaptation is what makes this safe.
- Online adaptation — Re-planning your treatment while you are on the table, using a scan taken moments earlier.
- Stereotactic radiotherapy (SBRT/SRS) — Highly focused, high-dose radiation delivered with sub-millimeter precision.
Who can benefit?
Adaptive radiotherapy is especially valuable for cancers of the prostate, lung, liver, pancreas, and head and neck, as well as brain metastases and oligometastatic disease.