Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SRT)

What is stereotactic radiotherapy?

Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) gives radiotherapy to many different parts of the body. The beams meet at the tumour, so the tumour receives a high ablative dose of radiation and the tissues around it only receive a low dose, lowering the risk of side-effects.

Patients receiving SRT usually have between 1 and 8 treatments. SRT is also sometimes called Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR). When used to treat brain tumours, SRT is referred to as Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS).

Which cancers can be treated with stereotactic radiotherapy?

This type of radiotherapy is mainly used to treat very small cancers, including:

• Brain tumours
• Bone cancer
• Vertebral bone metastasis
• Lung cancer
• Liver cancer
• Cancers in the lymph nodes
• Prostate cancer
• Spinal cord tumours.