Radiation therapy refers to the
medical use of targeted energy such as radioactive substances, x-rays
etc., to destroy or kill cancerous cells without affecting the nearby
healthy tissues. This therapy can be deployed as a sole therapy or as an
adjuvant therapy, or it can also be employed to shrink the tumor cells,
reduce pain and pressure or any other symptoms of cancer (also known as
palliative radiation therapy). Currently, acceptance of radiation
therapy is increasing owing to the consistent rise in cancer incidence
worldwide. As per the updates published by World Health Organization
(WHO), in February 2015, cancer is among the leading causes of mortality
and morbidity across the globe with approximately 14 million new cases
and around 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012.
In majority of cancer treatments,
radiation therapy acts as an effective treatment option; however, other
types of cancers may respond to combination treatment options such as
surgery, chemotherapy or immunotherapy. External and internal radiation
therapies constitute the two major cancer treatment options. Systemic
radiation therapy, intraoperative radiation therapy, radioimmunotherapy
and radiosensitizers and radioprotectors represent other types of
oncology radiation therapies. External beam radiation therapy involves
the transmission of radiation through a machine positioned outside the
body and encompasses several types such as stereotactic radiation
therapy, proton beam therapy, 3-D conformal radiation therapy and
intensity modulated radiation therapy.
On the other hand, internal radiation
therapy also referred to as brachytherapy involves the placement of a
radioactive material (implant) via catheter or a carrier at the tumor
site and the tissue surrounding it. These radioactive implants may
either be temporary or permanent and may demand hospital stay. With
time, these implants lose their radioactivity but inactive seeds remain
in the body. Other treatment options such as systemic radiation therapy
involve the use of radioactive materials such as strontium-89 or
iodine-131 which travel in the blood to kill cancerous cells while
radioimmunotherapy involves the use of monoclonal antibodies that
deliver radiation directly to the cancer cells.
The market for oncology radiation therapy
can be majorly segmented on the basis of type of method, radiation
source and application. Based on the type of method, radiation therapy
can be further categorized into stereotactic radiotherapy and
stereotactic radiosurgery. Type of radiation source can be further
classified into two major sub segments namely external beam radiation
therapy and internal radiation therapy along with their technologies.
Use of radiation therapy in treatment of various cancers such as
colorectal, breast, lung and prostate represents the application areas
of oncology radiation therapy market. Geographically, North American and
European countries represent the major revenue contributors owing to
consistent technological advances followed by rigorous research
initiatives to identify novel treatment methods. Asia Pacific and LATAM
regions provide lucrative opportunities for the growth and acceptance of
radiation therapies in cancer treatment. Safety regulations and
reimbursement policies for radiation therapies govern the market growth.
The major factors favoring market growth
are increasing cancer incidence followed by consistent technological
advances in cancer research and treatment measures. In addition,
consistent rise in geriatric population along with favorable
reimbursement policies will propel the market growth. On the other hand,
harmful side effects of radiation therapy followed by high cost of the
procedures are the major factors that might hamper the market growth.
Furthermore, factors such as lack of adequate infrastructure in
conjunction with increasing healthcare expenditure might further limit
the market growth. Accuray, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation,
Brainlab AG, C.R. Bard, Inc., GE Healthcare, NTP Radioisotopes (pty)
Ltd., Positron Corporation, Siemens Healthcare and Varian Medical
Systems, Inc. are some of the players operating in this market.
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