Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy/Stereotactic Ablative Radiation are highly targeted techniques for planning and delivering radiation therapy. It is used to deliver high doses of radiation per treatment, allowing for fewer treatment sessions. SBRT/SABR techniques are used for the treatment of smaller, extracranial lesions.
In some cases, the SBRT/SABR will be delivered as a gated treatment. What this means is that the motion of tumor/tumor bed from breathing is accounted. The radiation will only be delivered in specific phases of breath. This means that the amount of radiation to the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor/tumor bed, can be reduced.
The treatment time for an SBRT/SABR treatment is 15-40minutes and is used in conjunction with advanced image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) techniques to ensure the accuracy of treatment delivery (see details for IGRT below).
The Radiation Oncologist will assess the suitability for SABR/SBRT on a case by case basis.