Radiation therapy

External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with the tumor.

Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the tumor.

Stereotactic radiosurgery may be used for very small craniopharyngiomas at the base of the brain. For this treatment, a rigid head frame is attached to the skull to keep the head still during the treatment. Then, a machine aims a single large dose of radiation directly at the tumor. This procedure is a type of radiation therapy and does not involve surgery. It is also called stereotaxic radiosurgery, radiosurgery, and radiation surgery.

Intracavitary radiation therapy is a type of internal radiation therapy that may be used in tumors that are part solid mass and part fluid-filled cyst. For this treatment, radioactive material is placed inside the tumor. This type of radiation therapy causes less damage to the nearby hypothalamus and optic nerves.

Intensity-modulated photon therapy is a type of radiation therapy that uses x-rays or gamma rays that come from a special machine called a linear accelerator (linac) to kill tumor cells. A computer is used to target the exact shape and location of the tumor. Then thin beams of photons of different strengths are aimed at the tumor from many angles. This type of 3-dimensional radiation therapy may cause less damage to healthy tissue in the brain and other parts of the body.

Proton-beam radiation therapy is a type of radiation therapy that uses streams of protons (tiny particles with a positive charge) to kill tumor cells. This treatment can reduce the amount of radiation damage to healthy tissue near a tumor.