TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Radiation therapy
Source: Childhood Ependymoma, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: November 5, 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 ependymoma
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. Ependymoma is treated with external beam radiation therapy. This type of therapy 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 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.
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Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a type of 3-D radiation therapy that uses a computer to make 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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Proton-beam radiation therapy is a type of high-energy radiation therapy. A radiation therapy machine aims streams of protons (tiny, invisible, positively-charged particles) at the cancer cells to kill them.
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Stereotactic radiosurgery uses a rigid head frame attached to the skull to keep the head still during the radiation treatment. A machine aims a single large dose of radiation directly at the tumor. This procedure does not involve surgery. It is also called stereotaxic radiosurgery, radiosurgery, and radiation surgery.
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Younger children who receive radiation therapy to the brain have a higher risk of problems with growth and development than older children. 3-D conformal radiation therapy and proton-beam therapy are being studied in young children to see if it decreases the effects of radiation on growth and development.
Learn more about 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