ABSTRACT
Radiation therapy (radiotherapy), which arose from and progressed through innovations in physics, engineering, and biology, is one of the most important modalities in cancer treatment. The limitation of radiotherapy is the damage to normal tissue during irradiation. A promising area that may overcome the limitation and improve radiotherapy is nanomedicine. Nanomaterials with unique size, shape and surface properties are ideally suitable for radiotherapy. As a nanodelivery system, they are able to deliver radioisotopes or radiosensitizers for enhanced therapeutic response and diagnosis by enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. As nanotherapeutics, they are able to combine with radiation therapy for the improved therapeutic index by synergism. In this chapter, we depict the concept of nanomedicine for radiation therapy and summarize its applications in cancer treatment and diagnosis.
