Figure 3. Contouring. The computed tomography images obtained during treatment simulation are imported by specialised software to contour organs at risk (eg brain – yellow line), and the tumour (red line). The pink line represents the planning target volume (ie the volume of tissue to receive the prescribed treatment dose). This volume includes the tissue affected by the cancer and an additional safety margin to account for potential variation associated with patient setup or internal movement of organs.

Radiation therapy in veterinary medicine: a practical review

Normal tissue cells, similarly to cancer cells, are susceptible to the damaging effects of ionising radiation (Ward, 1988; Stewart and Dorr, 2009; Hill and Bristow, 2013). The risk, type, and severity...