FV Hospital
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Hy Vong Cancer Centre

Radiation Oncology

Radiotherapy is one of the key cancer treatment modalities. This treatment uses the controlled use of powerful radiation beams to kill cancer cells or ease cancer-related symptoms.

External Beam Radiotherapy

Using the Elekta Infinity linear accelerator, we deliver non-invasive treatment that targets the tumour’s exact size and location.

Radiotherapy starts with a CT scanner to get a clear picture of the tumour’s size and position

3D radiation simulation is a vital, non-treatment planning session (lasting 30-60+ minutes) where a CT scanner is used to precisely map the cancer, position the patient, and create immobilisation devices. It ensures that the exact same, stable position is reproduced for every treatment to maximize accuracy and protect healthy tissue.

At FV, we also use 4D CT simulation using the system Symmetry 4D Image Guidance. 4D simulation captures tumour movement over time, typically throughout a breathing cycle. By creating a “movie” of tumour motion (the fourth dimension), it allows radiation oncologists to precisely target tumours in the lungs and abdomen while minimising damage to healthy tissue.

Medical physicists play a key role in your radiotherapy treatment journey. Their main job is to make sure that the amount of radiation used during your treatment is carefully planned and precisely delivered to the cancer area, while protecting as much healthy tissue as possible. Before your radiotherapy begins, your cancer treatment team, radiation oncologist and medical physicists, work together to design a treatment plan tailored specifically for you.

The radiotherapy planning process begins by defining the tumour target and susceptible normal tissues. The process then involves arranging the radiation beams such that they cover target tissues while minimising exposure to the adjacent normal organs.

Treatment planning is a 4-step process:

01

Contouring

To exactly delineate the tumour volumes and the surrounding organs at risk.

02

Dosimetry

Using a Treatment Planning System (TPS) a medical physicist uses a specialised software to determine the best beam arrangement, intensity, and energies to create the optimal radiation dose distribution.

03

Evaluation and Approval

The plan is evaluated by the radiation oncologist to ensure the best possible target coverage while sparing organs at risk.

04

Quality Assurance

Medical physicists verify the plan's accuracy on the treatment machine before the first session.

Radiotherapy treatment plan for treating a brain tumour
Radiotherapy treatment plan for targeting lung cancer

The work of medical physicists is essential to making sure your radiotherapy is safe, precise, and effective. Without their detailed calculations and careful planning, it would be difficult to accurately target the cancer while minimising the risk to healthy tissues. Their expertise in radiation physics and treatment planning ensures that your cancer treatment is customised specifically for you.

The Elekta Infinity linear accelerator includes an integrated imaging device called Cone Beam CT, allowing Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT). IGRT is a high-quality, pre-treatment imaging technique to pinpoint the tumour site and verify correct patient positioning. This is done for each patient immediately before starting the radiation treatment. For cancers located in the thorax or the abdomen we use 4D IGRT to adjust the radiation beams to the tumour movements.

At Hy Vong we offer advanced radiotherapy techniques to deliver the safest, most effective treatments for cancer:

  • Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): A type of radiation which shapes the radiation beam to approximately the shape of the tumour. IMRT enables a more precise radiation dose distribution to the target area by allowing the radiation oncologist to control the intensity of the radiation beam within a given area.
  • Volumetric Arc Therapy (VMAT): An IMRT radiation technique, which can achieve highly precise dose distributions with improved target volume coverage and sparing of normal tissues resulting in reduced treatment time.
  • SRS (Stereotactic Radiosurgery) and SBRT (Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy): High-precision techniques for destroying small or surgically challenging tumours in the brain (SRS) or in other parts of the body (SBRT). These techniques achieve a higher dose than what could be given with conventional radiotherapy.
  • Partial Breast Irradiation (PBI): Breast sparing procedure that delivers external beam radiation twice a day for five days following lumpectomy surgery. This technique offers a significant time saving compared to the whole breast irradiation protocol which requires five to seven weeks of radiation therapy.
  • Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) and Active Breathing Coordinator: DIBH is a radiotherapy technique where patients take a deep breath during treatment, and hold this breath while the radiation is delivered. By taking a deep breath in, your lungs fill with air and your heart will move away from your chest. This technique is specifically used for lung and breast cancers to synchronize radiation with the patient’s breathing, protecting the heart and lungs from unnecessary exposure. – Read more
  • Total Body Irradiation (TBI): Hy Vong is the only radiotherapy centre in Vietnam to offer VMAT-TBI, an advanced radiation treatment technique which is generally delivered as part of the preparation for a bone marrow transplant. Compared to the classic 3D TBI, VMAT-TBI protects lungs and kidneys.

Treatment is given in the FV radiotherapy centre, in a specialised room.

Prior to starting the treatment you will need a dental check-up, then follow instructions to protect your teeth.

Radiotherapy may be given over days or weeks and usually takes 15-30 minutes for each treatment session (called “fraction”).

  • You will be in the same position that you were scanned in at the planning simulation appointment.
  • The radiation beam is only on for a few minutes.
  • It is not painful and you won’t feel or see anything.
  • While you are receiving radiotherapy you will be on your own in the treatment room. However, the radiation therapist can see and hear you via a video camera.
  • Treatment is usually given as an outpatient.

Radiotherapy delivered to the pelvis requires bowel and bladder preparation.

Brachytherapy (Internal Radiation Therapy)

Procedure where your radiation oncologist places a very high energy radiation source inside your body near the tumour site for a brief period of time. Healthy exposure to normal surrounding tissue can be minimised. This procedure is used for treating cervical and endometrial uterine cancers.

FV offers anaesthesia during the insertion of the brachytherapy device which is critical for ensuring patient safety, immobility, and pain control, as this insertion is often painful. It enables precise, high-dose radiation delivery by preventing movements, while minimizing distress.

Read more about Brachytherapy: A New Treatment Method for Gynaecological Cancers

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