Radiation therapy can be used along with chemotherapy to preserve the patient’s bladder in bladder cancers. It can also be used to destroy any cancer cells left behind in the pelvis after bladder cancer surgery. For kidney cancer, radiation can be used to destroy tumors that are too difficult to treat with surgery. Johns Hopkins uses the latest collaborative research, treatment techniques and equipment to provide personalized care for patients with bladder and kidney cancers.

Our Bladder and Kidney Cancer Treatments

• For bladder cancer, our radiation oncologists use intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) (which delivers targeted radiation doses to the tumor site, patterned to match the shape of the tumor through modulating the intensity of the radiation beams) or three-dimensional (3-D) conformal radiation therapy. For this technique, imaging scans are used to create a three-dimensional model of the exact shape and size of the tumor. Then multiple radiation beams are aimed at the tumor shape, sparing nearby healthy tissue.
• While innovative radiation therapies are available to treat kidney cancer, the direct removal of the kidney tumor or cryoablation therapy (freezing) are more likely to be used than radiation. When radiation is appropriate, our radiation experts use IMRT or stereotactic radiosurgery, a nonsurgical radiation therapy that can be used as an alternative to invasive surgery. The technology delivers multiple radiation beams from different angles and planes. Three-dimensional  images are used to determine the exact location of the tumor.
• Proton Therapy is a form of targeted radiation treatment that uses energy from positively charged particles called protons. Protons very precisely zero in on tumors, delivering most of their cancer-fighting energy directly to cancer cells while minimizing radiation exposure and damage to neighboring healthy tissue and organs. The therapy reduces the risk of late effects after treatment.