TomoTherapy For Prostate Cancer

TomoTherapy for prostate cancer is a type of radiotherapy which combines the best aspects of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) and Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT).

The system which delivers radiotherapy (called the linear accelerator) is sited in a ring gantry, like a CT scanner. The ring gantry rotates and is ‘donut shaped’. The unique shape of the system and the way that it works allows treatment to be delivered continuously and from all angles.

“This means that we have a form of radiotherapy which is both image guided and intensity modulated,” explains Dr Ahmed El- Modir, Birmingham Prostate Clinic’s consultant oncologist.

Is TomoTherapy the right treatment for me?

The main benefit of TomoTherapy is for patients whose cancer is difficult to treat. This may be for a variety of reasons:

• If you have had a hip replacement (particularly on both sides), this makes it difficult to plan and deliver radiotherapy because your prosthesis lies so close to the prostate and can interfere with the radiotherapy beams. For these patients TomoTherapy has a particular benefit because of its accuracy and ability to deliver beams from all angles.
• If there are particular concerns about the radiotherapy harming nearby organs, such as the bowel, either due to the location of your prostate cancer or other medical factors, for example, weakness in adjacent organs.

Where would I have TomoTherapy with the Birmingham Prostate Clinic?

Please contact us for an appointment with our consultant oncologist Dr Ahmed El-Modir. If TomoTherapy is the best treatment for you, your treatment will take place at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, within the private patients’ unit. We also offer IMRT and IGRT at GenesisCare’s centres in Birmingham and Oxford.