Arkansas Prostate Cancer Center
Arkansas Prostate Cancer Center
Arkansas Prostate Cancer Center
1300 Centerview Drive, Suite A
Little Rock, Arkansas 72211
501-410-1100
The Arkansas Prostate Cancer Center is a partnership between Arkansas Urology and AKSM/Oncology, a national provider of IMRT/IGRT treatment for prostate cancer.
The Arkansas Prostate Cancer Center offers radiation therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer, exclusively for Arkansas Urology patients.
Patients with prostate cancer have several treatment options, including:
- Surgery
- External beam radiation therapy
- Prostate brachytherapy
- Hormone therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Cryosurgery
- Watchful waiting
What is External Beam Radiation Therapy?
External beam radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, involves a series of daily treatments to accurately deliver radiation to the prostate. A carefully focused beam of radiation is delivered from a machine outside the body.
What is IMRT?
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, is a state-of-the-art technology that allows doctors to tailor each radiation treatment to your individual needs. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used to determine the exact location of the tumor and to deliver precise radiation doses to the tumor or specific areas within the tumor.
The radiation oncologist uses computer technology to deliver the appropriate dose of radiation to the prostate and the surrounding tissues. The technology determines the best way to deliver the treatment by varying, or “modulating,” the intensity of each radiation beam. IMRT is more precise and controlled than other forms of radiation and allows higher radiation doses to be focused on specific regions within the tumor while minimizing the dose to surrounding healthy tissue.
Why is IGRT important?
Image-guided radiation therapy, or IGRT, is used in conjunction with IMRT to ensure that the highly tailored radiation treatment administered by your clinical team is delivered exactly where it is intended, with millimeter precision. Before your treatments begin, your urologist will implant small fiducial markers into your prostate to use as a reference for comparison or measurement each time your receive a treatment. The markers are especially important because the prostate is an organ that moves every day. The markers are inserted during a simple procedure similar to a biopsy.
During your treatment, advanced imaging techniques will be used to locate these markers every day, and the treatment machine will be realigned to ensure that the prostate is exactly where it should be during your treatment. IGRT has been shown to significantly reduce side effects associated with radiation therapy.