Radiation therapy for childhood cancer

Doctors have long used radiation therapy to treat pediatric cancers, with a continued track record of success for many children. At Advocate Children’s Hospital, we offer safe and effective therapy, from standard, proven options to newer approaches such as proton therapy.

Radiation therapy is overseen by a radiation oncologist, a type of doctor who specializes in these treatments. As part of your team, your radiation oncologist determines when radiation therapy might help, and which kind. With other team members, your specialist carefully watches for how treatments progresses and whether it causes side effects.

Learn more about the cancers we treat.

Radiation therapy treatment at Advocate Children’s Hospital

Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other particles to damage or destroy cancer cells, with treatment aimed at tumors. Our doctors create careful plans for safe and accurate targeting. They also look for additional approaches to radiation therapy through clinical trials and follow research developments across the country.

Our doctors work with your family to make decisions about therapy, including which options provide the best chance for your child’s diagnosis. One of our social workers helps arrange appointments, with care provided in Oak Lawn or Park Ridge whenever possible.

Radiation therapy may provide the only treatment needed or get paired with other treatments. There are two types of radiation therapy:

External radiation therapy for children

During external radiation therapy, treatment starts outside the body. Your child must remain still, with our care team helping to make them as comfortable as possible. The care team controls a computer and a special machine called an accelerator to create and adjust beams of energy. The beams target the tumor for treatment.

There are several kinds of external beam therapy. Our oncologists discuss the type of treatment your child needs, with options potentially including:

• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): Doctors program the computer to adjust the radiation beam’s strength during treatment. Doing so accounts for the tumor’s actual shape, so radiation hits cancerous cells rather than healthy tissue. Forms of IMRT include tomotherapy, which adds imaging and targets tumors from multiple angles.
• Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS): SRS, also called radiotherapy, targets cancer cells with a few high-dose treatments. This approach results in fewer side effects and less damage to healthy tissue. Radiosurgery provides an option for brain and spinal cord tumors, which are treated through the Neurosciences Center at Advocate Children’s Hospital.
• Proton therapy: Also called proton beam therapy, this new and exciting option works for several kinds of cancer. Our doctors work closely with the Northwestern Medicine Proton Center to provide this promising treatment. Learn more about proton therapy.

Internal radiation therapy for children

Less frequently, our doctors place radiation inside the body at cancerous spots, a procedure also known as brachytherapy. The procedures usually take just a few minutes. There are 2 main forms of internal radiation therapy:

• Permanent implants: Doctors place tiny steel seeds in the tumor. The seeds release radiation into the body over time and then remain there permanently.
• Temporary therapy: Doctors use needles, tubes or other tools to briefly put radioactive material in the tumor. They then remove the material. During these procedures, your child is typically in a private room to keep other people from getting exposed to the radiation.

Benefits and use of radiation therapy for childhood cancer

Unlike chemotherapy, radiation therapy is targeted, destroying fast-growing cells such as cancer in a specific area. If healthy cells nearby get damaged, they can repair themselves more easily than those affected by chemotherapy.

Sometimes radiation therapy is the only treatment your child needs. At other times, it’s used to shrink tumors to prepare them for additional treatment.

We usually recommend a certain number of radiation treatments within a set time frame. The specific radiation dose, frequency and number of weeks depend on the details of your child’s diagnosis.

Radiation therapy safety

Our doctors create a treatment plan aimed at destroying as much of the cancer as possible while avoiding nearby healthy tissue. During a process called simulation, we measures and mark your child’s body to make sure radiation only goes to the intended areas.

Our team takes extensive safety precautions, involving computers that continuously measure and check radiation amounts during treatment ensuring the safest care possible.

Some types of radiation therapy come with restrictions afterward, to keep everyone safe. These safeguards may include:

• Avoiding contact with pregnant women
• Limiting time from visitors (while in the hospital)
• Hand-washing more than normal and using separate utensils and towels
• Drinking extra fluids
• Keeping contact with other children to a minimum

Radiation therapy side effects

External radiation therapy doesn’t leave your child radioactive. But like many cancer treatments, it can cause side effects that develop during treatment.

Your team gives your child time to recover between radiation sessions, and most side effects go away soon after therapy ends. Before then, our doctors let you know what to look for and how to help make your child more comfortable. Common side effects include:

• Fatigue, or feeling unusually tired
• Skin irritation
• Upset stomach
• Loose bowel movements

Late effects of radiation therapy

Radiation therapy can sometimes cause side effects that show up later in life, including the small chance of developing another cancer. Our team carefully explains these risks to you, including the best way to watch for possible problems.

Additionally, we can help watch for late effects through our Pediatric Oncology Survivors in Transition (P.O.S.T.) program. The program provides all the follow-up care your child needs, including support for a continued healthy lifestyle.