The department of Radiation Oncology at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, was the second center in Karnataka to offer dedicated treatment facilities for oncology when it was established in 1974. In 1992, with the philanthropic support from the Shamdasani foundation for care of cancer patients, Shirdi Saibaba Cancer Hospital was established, and the department was one of the earliest centers in the state to acquire a Linear accelerator.

It is also among the earliest centers in the country to implement High Dose Rate brachytherapy.

Presently the department has teletherapy equipment with ability to deliver treatment techniques ranging from conventional and 3D-Conformal Radiotherapy to highly complex treatment techniques such as Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) and Stereotaxic radiotherapy with facility for respiratory gating and image guidance (IGRT). It also has a High-dose-rate brachytherapy machine, and routinely delivers 3D Image Guided brachytherapy. Our department treats more than a thousand patients each year with radiotherapy.

The department has a well-established postgraduate program in Radiation Oncology (MDRT) since 1976, with its alumni spread across the globe. It has an intake of three residents each year, and has an optimum number of patients to provide the best of both clinical exposure and academic endeavours. The department works in close collaboration with other disciplines including specialties of Medical and Surgical Oncology and Palliative medicine, thereby providing a rich academic and clinical experience for the student interested in Oncology. 

Dr Srinivasan VijayaKumar

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Delivery of quality radiotherapy requires sophisticated equipment, and in this regard, our department is well-equipped with advanced machinery with capabilities of delivering a range of treatment techniques. Ionizing radiation is typically delivered in two different but complementary forms- teletherapy and brachytherapy.

Teletherapy facilities:

Our department is equipped with a Versa HD linear accelerator (Elekta Inc.) with the ability to deliver treatments ranging from simple to very complex techniques including stereotaxy. The department routinely makes use of all the following treatment techniques:

1.      Basic radiotherapy techniques including manual planning, simulator-based planning, electron beam radiotherapy planning and 3D-Conformal radiotherapy.

2.      Advanced external beam radiotherapy techniques: Intensity Modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy(VMAT) with Image Guidance (IGRT).

Such treatment is used for nearly all head and neck cancers, and selected cancers of the pelvic and abdomino-thoracic tumors.

3. Stereotactic radiation (including SRS and SBRT): These are advanced radiation techniques delivering very high doses of highly focused radiation to small tumors. We have  agood number of patients undergoing SBRT for brain, liver, selected gastrointestinal and metastatic tumors.

4.  Advanced patient immobilization techniques, including implementation of Deep Inspiratory Breath Hold (DIBH) and Deep expiratory breath hold (DEBH) techniques and non-invasive frame based cranial stereotaxy: these are necessary for treatment demanding high accuracy, and are used in patients receiving high-precision treatments.

Brachytherapy:

Brachytherapy is a technique that involves placing the radiation source within the patient’s tumor in order to deliver very high doses to it, while at the same time substantially reducing the normal tissue exposure. The department has a Gammamed Iridium-192 based High Dose Rate brachytherapy machine

1.      Intracavitary brachytherapy with Image guided adaptation is the most common form of brachytherapy, employed most frequently for gynecological cancers.

2.      Interstitial brachytherapy for gynecological and non-gynecological cancers, including routine use of multicatheter based Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI).

3.      Facilities for Intraluminal brachytherapy and surface mold therapies for esophageal and bile-duct cancers, and for skin cancers, respectively.

Grant/Projects

Patterns of Recurrence, Long-term Survival and Toxicity Analysis of Endometrial Adenocarcinoma Patients Reclassified under the Recent ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO Stratification: Seven-Year Results from a Single Institution. Int J Gynecol Cancer 2018;28: 854-60.

Chemoradiation related acute morbidity in Carcinoma cervix and Correlation with Hematologic Toxicity: a South Indian Prospective Study. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2014;15(11):4483-6.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: From infancy to ongoing maturity. JHEP reports. 2022 August; 4(8). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhepr.2022.100498.

FLT-PET/CT in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy- A Pilot study. Advances in Radiation Oncology. 2022 July. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adro.2022.101037.

Hypofractionation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma - The Effect of Fractionation Size. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2022 May;34(5):e195-e209. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2022.02.021. Epub 2022 Mar 18. Review. PubMed PMID: 35314091.

Impact of COVID-19 on cancer care in India: a cohort study.  The Lancet Oncology, 2021;22(7):970–976. 

Distress Screening in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Planned for Cancer-Directed Radiotherapy. Laryngoscope 2021.

ZNF471 modulates EMT and functions as methylation regulated tumor suppressor with diagnostic and prognostic significance in cervical cancer. Cell Biology and Toxicology, 2021 

Modern Radiotherapy for a Medieval Malady: An Analysis of Treatment Toxicities for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancers. Middle East Journal of Cancer, 2021; 12(4): 527-534

Swallowing outcomes post volumetric modulated arc therapy for head and neck cancer patients using MD Anderson dysphagia inventory: An institutional experience. International Journal of Cancer Management 2020;13(4):e97922. 

Prognostic role of 14q32.31 miRNA cluster in various carcinomas: a systematic review and meta-analysis: Clinical and Experimental Metastasis, 2020;37(1):31–46.

Influence of Double strand break repair on Radiation therapy induced Acute skin reactions in breast cancer patients. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2014; 88(3):671-6.

Determination of expression of EGFR in premalignant and malignant lesions of the oral cavity and evaluating the role of Gefitinib in EGFR positive lesions. Japanese Society of Medical Oncology. 27. 10.1093/annonc/mdw587.014.

Treatment outcomes after intraluminal brachytherapy following definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer. J Can Res Ther 2014; 10:337-41.

https://eprints.manipal.edu/view/subjects/RADO.html

The department was awarded the Shastri Indo-Canadian grant for conduct of online lecture series, and conducted a Lecture series on “Practice of Oncology beyond the pandemic: what can be adapted, and what cannot,” in collaboration with the researchers from Cancer Care Manitoba, Canada, on 20-21 February 2021.

 Dr. Shirley Salins completed her Clinical Research fellowship in GI and Lung cancer with focus on SBRT at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Canada on April 30th, 2022.

Dr. Shirley Salins was awarded the AROI fellowship for the year 2018-19 in the age group of 30-35 years

Dr Shirley Salins applied for 2 patents in 2021 and are provisionally accepted.

Dr.Nijo Jose & Dr. Patil Nikunj Rajiv, postgraduates, won first prize in Quiz competition at the CME on Colorectal Cancers organized by Dept.Of Surgical Oncology, KMC, Manipal held on 20^th March 2021.

Dr. Nijo Jose won the second prize for poster presentation at the 9th Annual Conference of Indian Brachytherapy society IBSCON at Father Muller Hoospital, Mangalore.

Dr. Sheel Mohanty won third place for poster presentation at the CME on “Multidisciplinary approach to Pancreatic cancers” organized by the Dept of Surgical Oncology at KMC Manipal on  14^th of May 2022.

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Google map      :  https://goo.gl/maps/jY9TNXM1AVSBVg2X6

Email                : radiotherapy.kmc@manipal.edu

Phone number  : +91- 820- 2922456

Dr Srinivasan VijayaKumar