Technology advancements in radiation therapy have allowed treatment to be tailored to a patient's tumor type, size, and location to minimize the risk of damage to healthy tissue, improve survival, and minimize potentially serious side effects.

While radiologists once drew up treatment plans with a wax pencil on X-ray films, they now construct intricate, computerized treatment plans based on 3-D images of the tumor and can vary both the shape and intensity of radiation beams. One of the earliest radiation techniques, brachytherapy, now offers effective treatment for prostate, cervical and other tumors by directly implanting small radioactive sources temporarily or permanently into tumors via remote-operated equipment.