Radiation Oncology

The department of Radiation Oncology is one of the largest departments in RCC, Thiruvananthapuram comprising of 20 faculty members whose responsibilities include patient care, teaching and research activities.

The department has the capability to plan and execute all modern radiotherapy techniques such as 3DCRT, IMRT & VMAT, IGRT, Respiratory Gating, Radio Surgery (SRS), Total Skin Irradiation, Prone breast Treatment, Deep Inspiratory breath hold technique, TBI, SRT and SBRT. It is equipped with a digital simulator, a 4D CT simulator, Five Linear Accelerators (One ring gantry Linear Accelerator, three C arm high energy and one C arm low energy Linear Accelerators) and one Tele-Cobalt machine. There is a dedicated brachytherapy suite with HDR (Microselectron) treatment facility.

The faculty - many of whom are internationally trained - work in close collaboration with a team of dedicated Radiation Physicists and Radiation Technologists to provide high-tech quality controlled radiation to patients at an affordable expense. As many as 8000 patients receive radiotherapy each year.

The department has received accreditation of its radiation delivery systems from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, one of the foremost cancer centres in the world, and also by the EQUAL ESTRO (Quality Control Board of European Union).

Trained as clinical oncologists with expertise in both radiotherapy and systemic treatments such as chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and targeted (biological) therapy and immunotherapy, the faculty are responsible for non-surgical treatments of most solid cancers as well. They also have the expertise to manage any side-effects or toxicities arising from such treatments.

Teaching programmes

The department has been in the forefront of human resource development from the inception of RCC giving training to the MD and DMRT students of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. The National Board of Examinations, New Delhi accredited this division as a training centre for DNB Radiotherapy in 2005 and this course was conducted till 2011.

In the year 2012, the Medical Council of India granted permission to commence MD Radiotherapy course (8 seats/year) in affiliation with the Kerala University of Health Sciences. The MD Radiotherapy course run by RCC was recognized by MCI in 2015.

The training imparted is comprehensive and includes training in evaluation and diagnosis of cancer, decision making and execution of rational multi-modality therapy tailored to individual patient needs.

The department also attracts short term trainees from various medical and dental colleges across the country.

Research Activities

Apart from patient care, the department is also actively involved in translational research and clinical trials expected to lead to new treatments for cancer. Participation in clinical trials is offered to appropriate patients after a diligent and stringent regulatory approval and informed consent process. Radiation Oncology Team »