Skip to main content
Oncology

Radiotherapy

Cancer treatment using high-energy radiation to kill tumour cells.

Radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation (X-rays, gamma rays, or particles like protons) to damage the DNA of cancer cells. Modern external-beam techniques include IMRT (intensity-modulated), IGRT (image-guided), SBRT (stereotactic body RT), and SRS (stereotactic radiosurgery). Brachytherapy places radiation sources inside or next to the tumour. Modality selection depends on tumour site, size, and stage.

General information, not medical advice

What a term means for you depends on your own reports. Ask your treating doctor, or send your reports for a free review.

More Oncology terms

Want this explained for your case?

Send your reports once. A doctor reviews them and you get written quotes from up to 3 hospitals, free.

How this page is made

Methodology and editorial standards

Glossary entries are written by the Medcasts editorial team in plain language from published clinical sources. Each page shows its last-updated date.

  1. Hospital data. Hospital details are compiled from public sources and hospital websites. Accreditation (JCI, NABH and others) is shown where we hold a record of it. Always ask the hospital for its current certificate.
  2. Doctor credentials. Qualifications, specialty and bio come from the doctor's hospital profile. Licence is checked against the national medical-council register only where the profile shows a "Licence verified" badge with a date.
  3. Prices. Price ranges are indicative, compiled from hospital price lists and packages and shown with the date last updated. The hospital's written quote is what you pay against.
  4. Clinical text. Written by the Medcasts editorial team from published clinical sources. Unless a named reviewer is shown on the page, it has not been reviewed by a doctor.
  5. Independence. Hospitals cannot pay to change their position on our pages.