Need For New Standards In Radiation Therapy
Article Date: 27 Feb 2008
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/98708.php
Radiology / Nuclear Medicine News

[Excerpts]

Modern radiation techniques result in substantial variation between the
prescribed dose and the actual dose of radiation delivered to the tumor,
according to a study published online February 26 in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute.
As a result of this newly uncovered trend, the authors are calling for
national guidelines for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

"We found that in IMRT the prescribed dose rarely corresponded to the
planned, or delivered, dose," the authors write. "Dosimetric variations
between the prescribed dose and the recorded dose could be reduced by
establishing international and/or national guidelines."