Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion Radiation Oncologist Dr. Philip Villiotte explains external beam radiation and brachytherapy to treat certain GYN cancers

More than 2,000 women in Georgia are diagnosed with gynecological cancers of the reproductive tract each year. No woman is immune to the risk of gynecological cancer and that risk only increases with age.

If you or a loved one are diagnosed with a GYN cancer, such as endometrial, cervical or vaginal cancer, there are several treatment options to help you get back to the things you love the most.

And you don’t have to go far for treatment. The Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion has a team of experts, including gynecological oncologists and surgeons and radiation oncologists, who work in collaboration to help you get through any treatment recommended.

“It’s really important that we collaborate,” says Dr. Philip Villiotte, radiation oncologist at the LCRP. “We work very closely with the gynecological oncologists, Dr. (Sarah) Gill and Dr. (Christopher) Walker, to come up with a plan in consultation with them when a patient needs radiation therapy for a gynecological cancer.”

Hopefully you saw our previous Living Smart blog that focuses mostly on treating gynecological cancers with surgery and chemotherapy. (Read it here.) We mentioned radiation therapy but wanted to dive a little deeper with one of our board-certified radiation oncologists.

Gynecological cancer and radiation therapy

The most common gynecological cancers that need radiation therapy are uterine (endometrial) and cervical, Dr. Villiotte says. They also can treat vulvar and vaginal cancers with radiation therapy, but those are less common.

“Sometimes we are trying to cure the cancer with radiation, often with chemotherapy at the same time, instead of surgery. Sometimes we are doing radiation after surgery as a preventable measure to keep the cancer from coming back,” Dr. Villiotte says. “It’s very patient dependent, which is why we work collaboratively to come up with the best approach for the patient and cancer type.”

For example, with cervical cancer, if the tumor is too large or if the cancer has spread, then radiation therapy may be the better option. Your healthcare team can recommend external beam radiation therapy via the TrueBeam machine or high-dose brachytherapy. Some woman may need a combination of both.

With endometrial cancer, for example, surgery is typically the first course of treatment. However, if a woman isn’t a good candidate for surgery or if there’s a high risk of recurrence, then that’s when radiation therapy would play a role.

With the use of TrueBeam, we can administer radiation therapy with exceptional speed and precision. Its advanced imaging and motion delivers precise, yet high-dose radiation to destroy the cancer.

For patients with uterine or cervical cancer, most will need daily treatment for five weeks, Dr. Villiotte says. Some may also need brachytherapy. For women with vulvar cancer, their TrueBeam treatment may be closer to six or seven weeks long.

Brachytherapy is an internal radiation therapy where radioactive sources, typically a capsule, are placed directly inside or next to a tumor. The source is able to deliver high-doses of radiation to destroy the tumor.

For most women who need brachytherapy to help treat a GYN cancer, that typically requires three or five total treatments.

“We recommend treatment based on guidelines, and the goal is to cure your cancer in a safe and effective way,” Dr. Villiotte says. “People have been using radiation to treat cancer for more than 100 years. It can be a very important part of the treatment plan for some people. We have a great team and a great staff, and we can do very effective and very safe treatments.”

Related Article: Is radiation therapy safe?