Total Body Irradiation is Now Practiced in Nepal

Until now Total Body Irradiation (TBI) for bone marrow transplant was done only in limited centres in India and abroad. But not anymore.

For the first time in Nepal, Dr. Abish Adhikari, Radiation Oncologist at Kathmandu Cancer Centre successfully performed a bone marrow transplant using TBI. A person suffering from Aplastic Anemia was given the transplant by using radiotherapy by irradiating the whole body.

Radiotherapy is a treatment that uses high energy rays, similar to X-rays, to kill cancer cells. For some types of leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma, radiotherapy is done to the whole body (Total Body Irradiation) alongside high dose chemotherapy treatment.

Total body irradiation (TBI) alongside high dose chemotherapy helps to kill off leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma cells in the bone marrow. According to CancerResearchUK.org, TBI treatments are done twice a day for 3 or 4 days.