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Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays (such as x-rays) or
particles to destroy cancer cells. There are different kinds of
radiation therapy.
- External-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) uses x-rays from a
machine outside the patient's body to kill cancer cells.
- Brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy) uses small
pellets of radioactive material placed next to or directly into the
cancer.
External beam radiation therapy is the most common form of
radiation therapy for gallbladder cancer. The treatment is much like
getting an x-ray, but the radiation is more intense. The procedure
itself is painless. Before your treatments start, the radiation team
will take careful measurements to determine the correct angles for
aiming the radiation beams and the proper dose of radiation. Each
treatment lasts only a few minutes, although the setup time -- getting
you into place for treatment -- usually takes longer. Most often,
radiation treatments are given 5 days a week for several weeks.
Standard (conventional) EBRT is used much less often than in
the past. With newer techniques, doctors can more accurately treat
gallbladder cancers while reducing the radiation exposure to nearby
healthy tissues. This may offer a better chance of increasing the
success rate and reducing side effects.
Three-dimensional conformal radiation
therapy (3D-CRT)
3D-CRT uses special computers to precisely map the location of
the tumor(s). Radiation beams are shaped and aimed at the tumor(s) from
several directions, which makes it less likely to damage normal
tissues. Most doctors now recommend using 3D-CRT when it is available.
Uses of radiation therapy
Radiation therapy may be used in several ways to treat
gallbladder cancer.
After surgery
has removed the cancer: Radiation may be used to try to
kill any cancer that was left after surgery but was too small to see.
This is known as adjuvant
therapy. Radiation therapy is often given along with a
chemotherapy drug called 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which may make the
radiation more effective. Giving chemotherapy and radiation together is
called chemoradiation.
Some studies have shown that giving chemoradiation after surgery may
help patients live longer, especially those whose cancer had spread to
lymph nodes.
As part of the
main therapy for some advanced cancers: Radiation therapy
can also be used as a main therapy for some patients whose cancer is
not resectable but has not spread widely throughout the body. Most
often it is given along with chemotherapy (chemoradiation). This
treatment in this case does not cure the cancer, but it can help
patients live longer. More research is needed to find out if such
therapy is really useful to the patient.
As palliative
therapy: Radiation therapy is often used to help relieve
symptoms when a patient's cancer is too advanced to be cured. It may be
used to relieve pain or other symptoms by shrinking tumors that are
blocking passageways for blood or bile, or are pressing on nerves.
Doctors generally agree that palliative radiation therapy for
gallbladder cancer is useful.
Possible side effects of radiation therapy
Side effects of external radiation therapy might include
sunburn-like skin problems where the radiation enters the body, nausea,
vomiting, and fatigue. Often these go away after treatment. When
radiation is given with chemotherapy, the side effects are often worse.
For more general information about radiation therapy, please
see our document, Understanding Radiation Therapy:
A Guide for Patients and Families.
Last Medical Review: 11/02/2009
Last Revised: 11/02/2009
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