Recent technological advancements have increased the efficacy of
radiotherapy, leading to effective management of
cancer patients with enhanced patient survival and improved quality of life. Several important developments like multileaf collimator, integration of imaging techniques like positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT), involvement of advanced dose calculation algorithms, and delivery techniques have increased
tumor dose distribution and decreased normal tissue toxicity.
Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT),
intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), stereotactic
radiotherapy, image-guided radiotherapy (IGT), and particle
therapy have facilitated the planning procedures, accurate
tumor delineation, and dose estimation for effective personalized treatment. In this review, we present the technological advancements in various types of EBRT methods and discuss their clinical utility and associated limitations. We also reveal novel approaches of using biocompatible
yttrium oxide scintillator-
photosensitizer complex (YSM) that can generate X-ray induced cytotoxic
reactive oxygen species, facilitating X-ray activated
photodynamic therapy (XPDT (external beam) and/or iXPDT (internal X-ray source)) and azido-derivatives of
2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) as agents for site-specific radiation-induced DNA damage.