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Radiation therapy
Source: Childhood Glioma (Including Astrocytoma), National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: May 10, 2024 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Types of treatment for childhood glioma (including astrocytoma)
Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. Glioma may be treated with external beam radiation therapy. This type of treatment uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer. Radiation therapy may be given alone or with other treatments, such as chemotherapy.
Certain ways of giving external beam radiation therapy can help keep radiation from damaging nearby healthy tissue. These types of radiation therapy include:
Conformal radiation therapy uses a computer to make a 3-dimensional (3-D) picture of the tumor and shapes the radiation beams to fit the tumor. This allows a high dose of radiation to reach the tumor and causes less damage to nearby healthy tissue.
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Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) uses a computer to make 3-D pictures of the size and shape of the tumor. Thin beams of radiation of different intensities (strengths) are aimed at the tumor from many angles.
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Stereotactic radiation therapy uses a machine that aims radiation directly at the tumor causing less damage to nearby healthy tissue. The total dose of radiation is divided into several smaller doses given over several days. A rigid head frame is attached to the skull to keep the head still during the radiation treatment. This procedure is also called stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotaxic radiation therapy.
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Proton beam radiation therapy is a type of high-energy, external radiation therapy that uses streams of protons (tiny particles with a positive charge) to kill tumor cells. This type of treatment can lower the amount of radiation damage to healthy tissue near a tumor.
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The way radiation therapy is given depends on the type of tumor and where the tumor formed in the brain or spinal cord.
Radiation therapy to the brain can affect growth and development, especially in young children. For children younger than 3 years, chemotherapy may be given instead, to delay or reduce the need for radiation therapy. Radiation therapy may also be delayed for patients with NF1 because they may be at increased risk for a second cancer.
To learn more, see External Beam Radiation Therapy for Cancer and Radiation Therapy Side Effects.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice