Radiation Oncology

Radiation Oncology is a oncology specialty where there is controlled use of radiation either to cure cancer or to relieve symptoms like pain, bleeding or other symptoms of cancer. Radiation therapy is the treatment delivered by the Radiation Oncology team.

History
The first Department of Radiotherapy in India was set up in 1910 at the Calcutta Medical College Hospital. The earliest cases were treated with deep X-ray and radium. The use of X-rays in the treatment of cancer started in early 1920s. Around 1940s at least four radium institutes were established in the country. These included the Radium Institute in Patna, Radium Institute in Agra, Barnard Institute of Radiology in Madras and the Medical College of Lahore (now in Pakistan). By 1941, Dr Ramaiah Naidu, a former associate of Madame Curie, had established the first radon plant in India at the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH).

The first cobalt-60 teletherapy unit (Eldorado A) was commissioned at the Cancer Institute, Madras in 1956. By 1978, 57 departments had teletherapy units and another 6 centres awaited their first cobalt machines. The first linear accelerator in the country, a Clinac-4 machine, was installed at the Cancer Institute, Madras in 1976. The first indigenously developed linear accelerator, called Jeevan-Jyoti, was installed at Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh in March 1990. Recently, the development of indigenous cobalt machine (Bhabhatron I and II) and linear accelerator (Siddharth) have given a boost to emergence of low-cost alternatives for radiation therapy.

The latest addition to radiotherapy advancement is the installation of proton therapy unit at Apollo Chennai, TMC Mumbai and upcoming in National Cancer Institute in Delhi NCR.

Brachytherapy in India has greatly evolved over the past nine decades since 1920s when radium brachytherapy was started. The use of radium continued for more than six decades till the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Bombay, called back all the radium sources. Several hospitals during this time performed manual after loading brachytherapy with Cs-137 sources as well. The 1980s saw the emergence of remote after loading brachytherapy units in India. India has had installation base of almost all models like Selectron (LDR) using Cs-137 pellets, Selectron (HDR) using Co-60 pellets, micro-Selectron (LDR, PDR and HDR) using Ir-192 miniature source, Ralston (HDR) using Co-60 source, GammaMed and GammaMed Plus models (HDR, Ir-192) and others.

History of MTMH:
The radiotherapy department at MTMH was set up in the year 1975. Initially treatment was rendered with deep x-rays and cobalt teletherapy units. The department also had Low dose rate followed by high dose rate brachytherapy units (Micro-selectron) till 2017. In 2009 the first linear accelerator (Synergy) was set up which runs till date. Newer and more advanced HDR brachytherapy unit (Gamma Med Plus) was installed in 2018.A second state of the art linear accelerator (True Beam) was contributed by the Tata Trusts which became functional in 2019 and presently all advanced radiation treatments are provided to the patients by the Radiation Oncology team.