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Radiotherapy or radiation therapy is a therapy using ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment. Some kinds of the radiation beams are controlled X-rays, gamma rays, beta rays, neutron radiation. The linear accelerator is a special machine that produces X-rays and is often referred to as a linac. It focuses on the exact area that needs treatment.

The source of radiation may be outside the body of the patient or it may be an isotope that has been implanted or instilled into abnormal tissue or a body cavity, also called brachytherapy.

The purpose of radiation therapy is to destroy the pathological target cells, such as tumors. Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to induce DNA damage within cancer cells, which ultimately results in cancer cells death. External beam radiation therapy is the most common type of radiation therapy.

The most common reason for a radiotherapy treatment is the presence of tumor formations. Radiation therapy is also applied in some cosmetic procedures - radiation after surgery or removal of keloid scars.