Total body irradiation

Abstract

Total body irradiation (TBI) is used primarily as part of the treatment for leukaemia, but hemi-body irradiation can also be used for pain control. For the treatment of leukaemia, the aim is to destroy the patient’s leukaemic bone marrow and then to replace it with a bone marrow transplant. Systemic diseases such as leukaemia are usually treated with chemotherapy. However, TBI is able to make two contributions to therapy (Barrett 1995).