The post-radiotherapy follow-up of patients is the time when we feel the greatest sense of achievement, when the positive effect of radiotherapy is fully effective and the positive effect of radiotherapy is basically gone. At this time, the question we explain to patients the most is that the "tumor" has gone to **?
There are many more similar doubts:
For example, I will be asked, "I haven't had any surgery, why is the tumor gone?"”
And: "Why did that piece of meat disappear?".Good magic ray".
Also: "Why is it that the tumor is just gone and the surrounding normal organs are basically intact?"”
The list goes on ......
01. What is radiotherapy?
Radiotherapy is the abbreviation of radiation, which is one of the main means of tumor, which uses radiation to kill tumor cells to shrink or disappear into tumor. Radiation destroys cells in the irradiated area (target) and causes these cells to stop** until they die. The goal of radiation therapy is to do the best possible to kill the tumor cells while preserving normal tissue.
02. How does radiotherapy "kill" tumors?
First of all, it is necessary to understand that tumor cells are different from normal cells but different from normal cells, and the main feature is: uncontrolled crazy growth, and the "essence" of tumor cell crazy growth is the continuous replication and ** of genetic material DNA, which is also the basis of various types of tumors.
Secondly, we need to know what happens when the rays enter the body, the main target of the rays after entering the human body is DNA (equivalent to the headquarters of the cell), and the rays have two combat modes: the first is called "direct action", which directly penetrates the double-stranded DNA and causes cell death, which is the main form of high-energy (heavy ion) rays;
There is also a type called "indirect action", which requires the formation of "free radicals" with the cooperation of substances in the body and then slowly tortures DNA until cell death, which is the main form of conventional radiotherapy (X-ray, radiation).
Both methods have their own advantages and different indications, and the specific choice of which method depends on the patient's own situation.
Cancer cells are different from normal cells in that they have a strong ability to repair but poor cell repair abilityUsing this feature, we use radiation to "pinpoint" cancer cells. In addition, the "Great Leap Forward" growth of tumor cells will lose the original repair mechanism of the cells, so they will become cells that are susceptible to radiation damage.
Clinically, in order to open up the damage degree of normal cells and pathological cells, we will use the method of fractional irradiation, so that during the interval of fractional irradiation, normal cells can be repaired, and then re-irradiation will be given when the cancer cells have not recovered. Through multiple irradiations, the damage gap between normal cells and cancer cells is widened, and the tumor is finally destroyed.
03. Why did the tumor disappear?
After radiotherapy, tumor cells mainly die in the form of necrosis and apoptosis, and the dead tumor cells cannot maintain the stability of the cell membrane, and slowly dry up like a deflated balloon and are destroyed by the phagocytic cells in the body.
In clinical work, about 70% of patients with malignant tumors need radiotherapy in the first process. Radiotherapy can participate in all stages of the development of malignant tumors, and some tumors can be directly treated with radiotherapy, such as nasopharyngeal cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, etc.
Radiotherapy has obvious advantages over other methods, it is very invasive, many patients who can not tolerate surgery or chemotherapy, can choose radiotherapy, especially the current intensity-modulated radiotherapy, radiotherapy doctors can avoid the important organs around the tumor by formulating a radiotherapy plan, concentrate the radiation on the area where the tumor is located, concentrate on the "firepower" to destroy the tumor tissue, and protect the function of the surrounding organs.