In recent decades, radiation therapy has undergone rapid development due to technical innovations and has evolved into a high-precision treatment. Modern radiation equipment now makes it possible to irradiate tumors located deep in the body in such a way that neighboring organs are spared as far as possible. To ensure this high degree of targeting accuracy, three-dimensional, computer-assisted radiation planning is carried out in advance, using imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) to provide an exact representation of the tumor and the surrounding healthy tissue. The goal of this "local" cancer therapy is to cure the patient, or to alleviate symptoms in the case of advanced disease.
As the largest clinic for radiation oncology in Eastern Saxony, the Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiation Therapy and Radiation Oncology of University Hospital Dresden treats approximately 2,400 oncological patients annually, of whom around 550 are inpatients and 20% are treated within the framework of clinical trials. Besides the state-of-the-art conventional radiation equipment, two additional high-precision forms of treatment are available for this purpose. One is the University Proton Therapy Dresden, which has been used to treat specific tumor types within the framework of scientific studies since 2014, and the other is MR-LINAC, available since 2022, for the precise detection and irradiation of soft tissue tumors using a combination of MRI imaging and a linear accelerator.
In the inpatient area, the focus is on various combination treatments involving radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as on palliative care. In the outpatient area, patients with various types of tumor receive irradiation therapy either on its own or in combination with chemotherapy drugs.
