The Department of Radiation Oncology provides state-of-the-art radiotherapy for all types of malignant disease and certain benign conditions.
Treatment Facilities
Our conventional treatment facilities include two linear accelerators (linacs) offering 6, 10, 15, and 25 MV photons with a wide assortment of electron energies.
Brachytherapy
Tufts Medical Center pioneered in the use of sources of radiation placed within the body (brachytherapy). The treatment of some cancers such as prostate or lung may involve permanent placement of tiny radioactive "seeds" into the cancer.
Comprehensive Implant Services
Implant services include intracavitary and interstitial insertions using 192Ir, 125I, 103Pd, 131Cs, and 137Cs sources with expertise in the gynecologic tract, head and neck, CNS, breast, eye, lung, GI tract, and extremities.
MammoSite for Breast Cancer
Tufts Medical Center has pioneered the use of the MammoSite technology for breast cancer treatment. This device may allow some patients to reduce their treatment time from 6-8 weeks to 10 brief outpatient visits completed during one 5-day session. A number of other innovative breast brachytherapy applicators are under development.
AccuBoost for Breast Cancer
Drs. Wazer and Rivard are pioneers in the development of the AccuBoost breast brachytherapy system by Advanced Radiation therapy, LLC. The AccuBoost system is novel in that conformal brachytherapy fields are applied without insertion of catheters or needles. This peripheral, image-guided system delivers excellent tumor targeting while minimizing dose to health structures such as skin and chest wall.
Continuing Research
Tufts Medical Center continues to pursue novel forms of brachytherapy, particularly for gynecologic cancers and non-malignant coronary artery disease. Our physician and physicist staff are well-published and recognized leaders in brachytherapy. In addition to our high standard-of-care, we offer clinical trials for patients interested in human use research.
Return to Top
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is an effective, non-invasive alternative to traditional brain surgery. This highly sophisticated technology precisely directs focused radiation to specific targets in the brain, while minimizing exposure of the surrounding normal tissues to radiation. Typically performed in a single outpatient treatment session without general anesthesia, this proven technique helps patients avoid incision, scarring, and long hospital stays while minimizing surgical complications.
Boston Gamma Knife Center at Tufts Medical Center
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is available here at our own Boston Gamma Knife Center where we use the Elekta Gamma Plan treatment planning system. This state-of-the-art technology is the most highly regarded system in the world and sets the standard for all others of its kind. This therapy has proven very effective and safe for the treatment of brain metastases; arteriovenous malformations; and trigeminal neuralgia.
Return to Top
Hyperthermia
The use of heat (hyperthermia) along with radiation has been shown to increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy. Tufts Medical Center remains one of the few centers capable of providing hyperthermia on a routine basis. Hyperthermia is especially useful in treatment of cutaneous cancers and for women who have had a breast cancer recurrence on the chest following mastectomy or conventional radiation treatments.
Using image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), critical attention is given to patient localization and tumor imaging towards minimizing irradiation of healthy tissues and maximizing dose to target areas. At Tufts Medical Center, we utilize the most advanced imaging systems available for offering IGRT for all anatomic sites and tumor types.
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
IMRT uses a special multi-leaf collimator - a piece of equipment that attaches to the treatment machine which is used in conjunction with high-powered computers to customize the distribution of radiation beams. This results in the maximum possible dose to the diseased areas and minimum possible dose to the surrounding normal tissues and organs.
Tufts Medical Center First Center for IMRT in the Northeast
Tufts Medical Center was the first center to provide IMRT in the Northeast region of the United States, and was one of only six clinical sites in the world selected to develop this leading-edge technology. Our department served as a research site for this new modality in 1992 and continues to provide this now proven treatment system. We were also the first to publish studies showing the benefits of this treatment method for all parts of the body and especially for prostate cancer. We are still one of the few centers that safely use this treatment method for the entire body.
Pioneering Innovations in IMRT
With state-of-the-art computer software and collimators, Tufts Medical Center is now pioneering the use of high-speed computer controlled dynamic multi-leaf collimation with high-energy treatment machines to more effectively treat large and/or deeply positioned tumors. Staff members have been instrumental in helping develop the customized software that is the foundation of this therapy. This technology promises enhanced outcomes and substantial cost savings compared to related technology.
Return to Top
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)
SBRT is a treatment that provides a high degree of anatomic targeting accuracy and reproducibility with very high doses of radiation, which maximizes the cell killing effect on the target(s) while minimizing exposure to adjacent healthy tissues and organs.
Superficial Radiotherapy
Some smaller cancers located at or near the skin surface - particularly near the head and neck - respond very effectively to low-energy X-rays. The use of low-energy X-rays also minimizes risk of injury to adjacent critical organs. Tufts Medical Center is one of the few facilities in New England still capable of providing these low-energy X-rays.
The Tufts Medical Center Department of Radiation Oncology, in partnership with the Division of Hematology/Oncology, provides a Bone Marrow Transplant service that employs TBI. TBI uses high-energy X-rays to help destroy diseased bone marrow and prepare the body to successfully accept healthy bone marrow. Tufts Medical Center is capable of delivering higher energy X-rays (25 MV) than most all other facilities, and has demonstrated results indicating improved bone marrow transplantation outcomes.
Return to Top
Total Skin Electron Radiotherapy (TSET)
Certain forms of leukemia may eventually involve extensive areas of the skin and may be difficult to treat with conventional forms of therapy. In such cases, treatment of the entire surface of the body with low-energy radiation may be helpful in minimizing toxicity to internal organs. Tufts Medical Center is the only facility between Boston and New Haven, Connecticut, to offer TSET.
Return to Top
Specialized Radiotherapy
Breast Cancer: Interstitial Implantation for Breast Preservation
Breast preservation has been designated by the National Cancer Institute as the "preferred" therapy for most women with breast cancer. At Tufts Medical Center we have pioneered work in breast preservation with excellent results. A recent study that evaluated the utility and effectiveness of interstitial implantation was presented by our staff at the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
The results of this study have provided an impetus to radiation specialists around the country to begin evaluating interstitial implantation as a replacement for the conventional daily seven-week course of conventional radiation therapy.
Lung Cancer
Conventional surgery and radiation therapy for early lung cancer can seriously compromise lung function. Although this can be managed with acceptable results in healthy individuals, in the elderly or those with serious diseases of the lung (such as emphysema) aggressive therapy can be highly dangerous.
We have pioneered a new treatment option in which the tumor and a small amount of surrounding normal lung tissue are surgically removed. This is followed by placement of small radioactive pellets in the surgical bed. Early results from this approach have yielded excellent tumor control rates with no detectable compromise in lung function.
Prostate Cancer
In a joint effort with Tufts Medical Center's Department of Urology, our department is now offering a number of innovative treatment options for early and advanced-stage prostate cancer patients.
Brain Cancer
In conjunction with the Departments of Neurosurgery and Medical Oncology, our department participates in the Multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Clinic. Here, patients with a wide variety of benign and malignant brain tumors are offered the most sophisticated array of medical, surgical and radiation treatment options.
Return to Top