Schedules for fractionation One fractionation schedule that is increasingly being used and continues to be studied is hypofractionation. This is a radiation treatment in which the total dose of radiation is divided into large doses. Typical doses vary significantly by cancer type, from 2.2 Gy/fraction to 20 Gy/fraction, the latter being typical of stereotactic treatments (stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy, or SABR – also known as SBRT, or stereotactic body radiotherapy) for subcranial lesions, or SRS (stereotactic radiosurgery) for intracranial lesions. The rationale of hypofractionation is to reduce the probability of local recurrence by denying clonogenic cells the time they require to reproduce and also to exploit the radiosensitivity of some tumors.[Pollack, Alan, and Mansoor Ahmed . Hypofractionation: Scientific Concepts and Clinical Experiences. 1st. Ellicot City: LimiText Publishing, 2011] In particular, stereotactic treatments are intended to destroy clonogenic cells by a process of ablation, i.e., the delivery of a dose intended to destroy clonogenic cells directly, rather than to interrupt the process of clonogenic cell division repeatedly (apoptosis), as in routine radiotherapy.
Schedules for fractionation One fractionation schedule that is increasingly being used and continues to be studied is hypofractionation This is a radiation treatment in which the total dose of radiation is divided into large doses. Typical doses vary significantly by cancer type, from 2.2 Gy/fraction to 20 Gy/fraction, the latter being typical of stereotactic treatments (stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy, or SABR – also known as SBRT, or stereotactic body radiotherapy) for subcranial lesions, or SRS (stereotactic radiosurgery) for intracranial lesions. The rationale of hypofractionation is to reduce the probability of local recurrence by denying clonogenic cells the time they require to reproduce and also to exploit the radiosensitivity of some tumors[Pollack, Alan, and Mansoor Ahmed . Hypofractionation: Scientific Concepts and Clinical Experiences. 1st. Ellicot City: LimiText Publishing, 2011] In particular, stereotactic treatments are intended to destroy clonoge.nic cells by a process of ablation, i.e., the delivery of a dose intended to destroy clonogenic cells directly, rather than to interrupt the process of clonogenic cell division repeatedly (apoptosis), as in routine radiotherapy.