Radiation Oncology Program

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The Radiation Oncology Program within the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases is an internationally recognized leader in pediatric radiation oncology and the only radiation therapy center in the western United States to exclusively treat children. Families come from throughout the U.S., as well as from Asia, South America and the Middle East, for the highest-quality radiation therapy delivered in a compassionate, child-friendly environment.

Our expert, dedicated team – headed by a board-certified radiation oncologist and radiation physicist – works to design the best treatment for each individual child.

We offer treatment options for most types of pediatric malignancy, including leukemia, brain tumors, sarcoma, lymphoma, neuroblastoma and Wilms' tumor. Our physician-scientists are continually seeking new solutions for treating cancer. Among other breakthroughs, we were the first center worldwide to use Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, which concentrates the radiation dose on the tumor and directs it away from nearby sensitive tissues.

Treatment Services

The Radiation Oncology Program provides a complete spectrum of treatment alternatives. The technique and treatment plan we use depends on the type and location of your child’s cancer. In each case, we will tailor our approach to your child’s particular needs.

Conventional External Beam Radiation Therapy
The conventional external beam, with either photons or electrons, can be employed when the diseased tissue is either very superficial or involves an entire region of the body. Some examples include cancers of the extremities, cranio-spinal treatment for medulloblastoma, whole brain irradiation for leukemia and certain diseases that affect tissues throughout a section of the trunk.

3D Conformal Radiation Therapy
When solid tumors are much smaller than the body part in which they are found, radiation can be delivered in a way that conforms to the shape of the tumor, sparing nearby normal tissues. We develop a treatment plan based on CT or MRI images of the affected area. With this ability to visualize a tumor and other structures three-dimensionally, we can construct multi-beam treatment plans tailored to the shape of the tumor. Normal tissues more than two centimeters away from the tumor or relatively resistant to radiation damage are kept below the dose that would cause injury.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is particularly useful for or tumors that are close to normal tissues, especially whose tolerance for radiation is much lower than the dose prescribed to treat the tumor. In state-of-the-art therapy, we employ a precision radiation beam-shaping device called a multi-leaf collimator (MLC), which more accurately conforms the radiation beam to the shape of the child’s tumor than previous methods.

The Radiation Oncology Program co-developed the planning computer used in IMRT with Nucletron Corp, Netherlands. Using this sophisticated software, the radiation oncologist specifies the dose the child’s tumor must receive, as well as the dose that normal tissues cannot exceed, protecting the surrounding area. The planning computer calculates the shape-changes that the MLC must make during therapy to precisely meet the doctor's dose requirements. In January 2001, we became the first center in the world to treat a patient with this technology.

Read “IMRT: A New Technology to Improve Treatment of Pediatric Cancer Patients”

Total Body Photon Irradiation
We provide a complete program of Total Body Irradiation (TBI) for treatment of leukemias, in conjunction with bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Patients treated with TBI typically have such conditions as lymphomas, chronic myelocytic leukemia and acute non-lymphocytic leukemia.

Brachytherapy
In brachytherapy, radiation sources (often called “seeds” or radioisotopes) are implanted directly into or near a tumor, sometimes in combination with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), when appropriate. This advanced therapy allows us to deliver an effective, targeted dose of radiation while sparing surrounding tissue.

Equipment

Treating Planning

GE Lightspeed spiral CT scanner
GE MRI scanner
Nucletron Plato 3D/IMRT treatment planning system
GE image Fusion software
Varian Ximatron Simulator

Treatment Delivery

Varian 2100C Linear Accelerator
Millenium 120 leaf Multi-Leaf Collimator (MLC)
Dynamic Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Delivery software

Precise Patient Positioning

Medical Intelligence HeadFix
Medical Intelligence BodyFix

Contact Us

4650 Sunset Boulevard, MS# 54
Los Angeles , CA 90027
(323) 361-2417