As one of the three main means of treating malignant tumors, radiotherapy has to some extent made up for the lack of being unable to operate directly, thus improving the cure rate of tumors. In this regard, Professor Long Zhixiong, vice chairman of National Precision Radiotherapy, said that radiotherapy can be chosen for most tumor patients, and for some malignant tumors, radiotherapy alone can achieve radical effect. Radiotherapy can be used to fight for surgery. 70%-80% of patients diagnosed with malignant tumors are already in the middle and late stages. At this time, due to various reasons, surgery may not be able to completely remove the tumor or even lose the chance of surgery. Therefore, comprehensive treatment is advocated for malignant tumors. In addition to surgery, other treatment modalities such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy and ablation are appropriately selected to provide a greater chance to overcome the tumor. Among them, radiotherapy occupies an indispensable position. Prof. Zhixiong Long, vice chairman of National Precision Radiotherapy Committee, introduced that only in terms of the three major treatments, through the organic combination of radiotherapy with surgery and chemotherapy, the efficacy of malignant tumors can be significantly improved; radiotherapy with surgery can improve the surgical resection rate and cure rate; radiotherapy and chemotherapy with each other can effectively improve the five-year survival rate of patients. Radiotherapy can be applied in different stages of the treatment process. “Like nasopharyngeal cancer, head and neck tumors, esophageal cancer, cervical cancer and other types of malignant tumors that are too deep to be operated directly because of their growth location, radiotherapy is the first treatment modality.” Huang Yan said that preoperative radiotherapy can shrink the tumor and facilitate the execution of radical surgery. For example, for esophageal cancer over 10 centimeters, surgery is not possible to remove such a large area, so first adjuvant radiotherapy is for the chance of surgery. For breast cancer over 3 cm, post-operative radiotherapy is a “reserved procedure”, mainly to eliminate possible residual tumors or to intervene in areas where tumors may metastasize in advance to minimize local recurrence; supplemented with radiotherapy before chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer and lymphoma can not only stop cancer cells from metastasizing, but also improve their response to chemotherapy drugs. It can also improve their sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs. Although surgery is always the first choice for radical tumor treatment, radiotherapy also has an advantage that surgery cannot match, namely, preservation of organ function and cosmetic appearance. National Vice Chairman of Precision Radiotherapy, Prof. Zhixiong Long, said that for early-stage tumors, radiotherapy alone can achieve the same curative effect as surgery, because it preserves the integrity of the patient’s tissue and organ structure and function. It is understood that over 90% of early-stage nasopharyngeal cancer, skin cancer and cervical cancer can be cured by radiotherapy alone, while the 5-year survival rate of early-stage esophageal cancer, rectal cancer and prostate cancer also reaches 70%-80%. High malignancy tumors are more sensitive. Currently, there are two kinds of radiotherapy equipment commonly used in clinical practice, namely cobalt-60 therapy machine and electronic linear gas pedal, both of which can “kill” local cancer cells by converting rays into high energy. The electron linear gas pedal is the main equipment of modern radiation therapy, and the energy of the high-energy X-rays and electron beam produced is higher than the γ-rays produced by cobalt 60, which has better penetration, and the dose that enters the deep part of the body is high and the amount left in the skin is low. In addition, once the cobalt 60 treatment machine is turned on and used, it fissions and emits rays day and night, while the linear gas pedal can be better controlled, and the high-energy rays are no longer produced as soon as the machine is turned off. “The more differentiated a tumor is, the less malignant it is and the less sensitive it is to radiation.” National Vice Chairman of Precision Radiotherapy Prof. Zhixiong Long pointed out that the course and dose of radiotherapy varies greatly for tumors of different malignancy degrees. In general, tumors with a high degree of differentiation, such as squamous carcinoma, are treated in a course of seven weeks, five times a week; while tumors with a lower degree of differentiation, such as lymphoma, are treated in a course of 23-28 times. The cost of one radiotherapy session is$120 for linear gas pedal and$50 for cobalt 60. Precision radiotherapy reduces side effects Whether radiotherapy or chemotherapy, its side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, etc. may make patients fearful. Therefore, effectively improving the precision of radiotherapy and minimizing patients’ pain is the relentless pursuit of radiotherapy technology. “The reason why radiotherapy has side effects lies in the fact that while it kills cancer cells, it also harms normal human cells. So to increase the efficacy and reduce the side effects, its method is precision radiotherapy.” Professor Long Zhixiong, vice chairman of National Precision Radiotherapy Committee, said that in addition to maximizing the protection of normal tissues in human body, precision radiotherapy can also achieve the most effective treatment. Because malignant tumors are most afraid of recurrence, once recurrence occurs, the original radiation therapy dose will not work, so it must be done accurately at the first time. In recent years, the use of three-dimensional conformal and intensity modulated radiotherapy, together with the body fixed vacuum pad, thermoplastic mask, conformal headrest and other auxiliary equipment, radiotherapy has entered the era of precision radiotherapy with precise positioning, precise planning and precise treatment. It is understood that the 3D conformal and intensity modulation technology is to simulate the positioning of the tumor area before radiotherapy to build a precise 3D model of the cancer, so as to set the intensity of radiation during radiotherapy, avoid the normal tissues of human body, and “focus the fire” on the tumor area to achieve the purpose of “avoiding harm”. The purpose is to “avoid harm”. At the same time, the central irradiation technology makes precise radiotherapy more secure by cutting out the outline of the tumor on the lead baffle and covering the lead plate on the patient’s body surface during the actual radiotherapy, specifying that the radiation will only irradiate the hollow area.