Muscat: A medical team from the Royal Hospital’s National Oncology Centre on Tuesday met with success in conducting a radiotherapy for a patient suffering from a cardiac tumour.
The local excision of the tumor was followed with precise mapping and intensive radiotherapy that enabled the team to continuously monitor the patient’s condition.
Dr Thuraya Nassir al Hajri, Consultant and Head of Radiotherapy Department at the National Oncology Centre, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the risks involved stem from the rare occurrence of such cases and the application of radiotherapy therein at a global level, as well as the intensity of radio waves needed to eliminate the tumours, while the heart is in continuous motion, without damaging the adjoining tissues.
“There was apprehension from the probability of heart clotting or muscle weakening during the radiotherapy session, leading to the patient’s death,” said Dr Thuraya. This time, we safely conducted a total of 30 radiotherapy sessions in a span of six weeks, she added. “This case constituted the topic of a scientific paper published in a Cambridge University journal that discussed the causes of cardiac tumours, their symptoms and their treatment by adequate radiotherapy, as well as the associated difficulties.
