Boom Boom Radiation Therapy

tgyphilly

What a dumb name and I refuse to use it from now on, but has anyone here had this type of low-dose radiation treatment (4Gy/2), presumably for some form of indolent NHL?

Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3

I had never heard of this, until your post. I learned a bit about RTs when I had my prostate cancer in 2014-15. The included link from Blood may be of assistance. Generally, RT is used against lymphomas only when it is very early stage, or when only a single or few tumors are identifiable. The chair of my hospital Hematology Department used to humorously refer to RT against lymphomas as 'spot welding': That is, not systemic. Its benefit is a substantial reduction in side-effects, verses almost any chemotherapy drug. A Gray (also written as Gy) is a dose of therapeutic radiation, and the number following is the number of applications.....

https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/140/Supplement%201/3622/491193/Big-Boom-4-Gy-x-1-Radiation-Treatment-RT-Versus

tgyphilly

Thanks Max. I appreciate the article link. I found this one too last night, for anyone who wants to know how some docs are employing low-dose radiation for follicular lymphoma.

I thought the authors' take on watchful waiting was interesting...i.e., if you're going to need treatment at some point anyway (spontaneous remission is rare), and low-does radiation provides a very good opportunity to knock back the disease with limited immediate or long-term side effects, why not go that route?

https://ascopost.com/issues/october-25-2018/many-patients-with-early-stage-follicular-lymphoma-may-not-receive-guideline-recommended-radiation-therapy/