Soft X-ray therapy
"Soft X-ray therapy (RT) is used to treat for certain types of skin cancers and their precursors. Although it can be used for a wide range of benign and malignant skin lesions, we limit ourselves to the following diagnoses: Bowen's disease/hyperplastic actinic keratoses, spinocellular carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and keloids (from 20 years of age). A decision must be made in each individual case as to which is the best therapeutic option. RT is considered to have few side effects and is becoming increasingly important."
Soft X-ray therapy Mode of action
The irradiation acts in two ways: On the one hand, the DNA of the cells is damaged by the ionization in such a way that the diseased skin cells die. On the other hand, interaction with the water produces radicals that also lead to DNA damage and thus trigger the cell death of the malignant skin lesions.
Although the therapy is considered to have few side effects, ionizing radiation should still be used with caution and with appropriate safety precautions.
Soft X-Ray Therapy Procedure
Custom-made templates are used to cover the surrounding skin of the lesion. Particularly sensitive adjacent organs (thyroid, eye, gonads (testes/ovaries) and breast tissue) are left out or protected with lead cover. Irradiation field and dose are chosen and programmed by the responsible physician. The determined total dose is delivered in many individual doses (fractionated). This spares the healthy skin and destroys the more sensitive tumor cells.
The irradiation area should have a distance of approx. 1 cm from the edge of the tumor so that it can be safely targeted. The tumor tissue becomes inflamed during therapy (approx. from the 4th session). This is desired and is part of the therapy. This is the only way to remove the tumor. The treatment is generally painless, and the cosmetic results can be described as good to very good.
Consultation
You can make an appointment for a consultation or treatment at our clinic in Zurich using one of the following options:
Treatment information
Prices
The cost of the Soft X-ray therapy are covered by the health insurance.
Indications
