About the Department of Radiation Therapy and Radiation Oncology at WEGE Clinic Bonn

The Department of Radiation Therapy and Radiation Oncology at the WEGE Clinic Bonn offers all types of modern radiation therapy for the highly effective treatment of benign and malignant tumors. The department is equipped with three linear accelerators and brachytherapy systems, which provide patients with the safest, most effective, and most sparing irradiation of tissues affected by oncopathology. The department also provides radiotherapy planning and radiosurgery. An ultramodern technical base, exceptional professionalism, and experience of the department's physicians are the cornerstones of successful clinical practice. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Michael Pinkawa.

The department specializes in the treatment of all benign and malignant neoplasms, including metastases. It performs curative procedures as well as palliative care to alleviate symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients with vascular malformations of the brain, functional disorders of the nervous system (for example, epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia), and degenerative inflammatory and proliferative diseases. Depending on the diagnosis, the optimal treatment regimen is selected for each individual patient. In the case of malignant tumors, each clinical case is reviewed in an interdisciplinary board with the participation of all necessary experts. The physicians also hold preliminary consultations, during which they inform the patient in detail about all stages of the therapeutic process, possible side effects, and the expected outcomes.

An important part of the treatment is the preliminary planning of radiation therapy. The goal of this planning is to provide optimal radiation to the area affected by the pathological process while sparing as much healthy tissue as possible. Treatment planning is based on CT scans, but in some cases additional tests such as MRI and PET may be needed. All scans are used to precisely define the areas to be irradiated during the subsequent course of therapy.

The irradiation itself is performed by the medical-technical radiology assistant under the careful guidance of the specialized physician. The medical-technical radiology assistant imports the data obtained during the treatment planning into the computer system of the linear accelerator. The patient is then placed on the treatment table of the device in the position determined by the individual treatment plan. Depending on the treatment plan, the actual irradiation usually takes only a few minutes. The entire procedure, including preparation, takes no more than 15 minutes. The patient does not feel any pain during the treatment. In some cases, a single session is sufficient, but more often, the patient needs several sessions to better tolerate the therapy and preserve as much healthy tissue as possible. As with any other therapy, the patient will need follow-up examinations to consolidate the results. The first follow-up is usually after 6-8 weeks, then four times a year (for malignant diseases).

The department specializes in stereotactic procedures, which are one of the most accurate and effective types of radiation therapy. During this therapy, a precisely defined dose of radiation is directed to the tumor. This technique differs from classical radiation therapy in high accuracy and dosage, due to which the doctors often manage to reduce the duration of treatment. Stereotaxy is especially effective in the case of irradiation of small tumors. Stereotactic irradiation can be divided into several sessions (fractional therapy) or carried out within a single session (radiosurgery). The number of sessions depends on the location and size of the tumor. As a rule, stereotaxy is used for the treatment of benign and malignant brain tumors, brain metastasis, liver cancer and liver or lymph node metastasis, small lung tumors and lung metastasis, prostate cancer, recurrent tumors, vascular malformations, and bone metastases.

The team of the department's doctors also has unique competencies in radiosurgery (a special type of stereotaxy). As opposed to a conventional surgical intervention, cancer surgery is not invasive and the patient does not experience any pain during treatment and the anesthesia is not required. When performing radiosurgery, the doctors irradiate the tumor only once using a very high and effective dose. Radiosurgery is usually performed to treat tumors with clear boundaries, when the classical surgery cannot be performed due to the localization of the neoplasm (for example, in brain tumors). Radiosurgery is highly accurate and has a minimal negative effect on the healthy tissues.

The department's therapeutic service range is complemented by brachytherapy. Brachytherapy is a particularly effective type of radiation therapy. Unlike the percutaneous irradiation technique, during brachytherapy, the radiation source is located in the body, in the immediate vicinity of the tumor. Since brachytherapy affects a very limited area, the doctors can use a high dose of radiation. In most cases, this type of therapy serves for the treatment of tumors of the female reproductive system, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and prostate cancer. Brachytherapy can also be carried out as palliative care to alleviate the symptoms.

The department specializes in radiation therapy for the following pathologies:

• Benign diseases
  • Acoustic neuroma
  • Arteriovenous malformations
  • Vascular malformations of the brain
  • Chronic musculoskeletal pains 
  • Degenerative inflammatory diseases
  • Inflammatory and proliferative diseases
  • Epilepsy
  • Functional brain disorders
  • Trigeminal neuralgia
  • Pituitary adenoma
  • Meningioma
  • Ledderhose disease
  • Dupuytren's contracture
  • Scar relapse prevention (keloids)
  • Degenerative diseases of the finger, shoulder, knee, and hip joints accompanied by severe pain
  • Heel spur, plantar fasciitis
  • Penile curvature
• Malignant diseases
  • Prostate cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Uterine cancer
  • Cervical cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Vaginal cancer
  • Bowel cancer
  • Esophageal cancer
  • Liver cancer and liver metastases
  • Lung cancer
  • Kidney cancer and kidney metastases
  • Soft tissue metastases
• Other benign and malignant pathologies

The department offers the following types of radiation therapy:

• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy
• Volumetric modulated arc therapy
• Stereotactic radiation therapy
• Brachytherapy
• Other types of radiation therapy