Radiation Therapy for Gastric Cancer

 

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells. The most common type of radiation therapy for gastric cancer is external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).

  • External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) - Radiation from a high-energy x-ray machine (linear accelerator) outside the body is focused on the cancer cells. EBRT can harm both the cancer cells and nearby healthy tissue. Most people are treated with EBRT for a few minutes 5 days a week for several weeks as an outpatient.

Radiation therapy is used, often in combination with chemotherapy drugs, after surgery to kill gastric cancer cells left in the body and reduce the chance that the cancer will come back. It is also used to treat some of the symptoms of gastric cancer.

This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.

This content was last modified on August 30, 2007 .
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