Technical advances in radiotherapy of head and neck tumors

Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 1999 Aug;13(4):811-23. doi: 10.1016/s0889-8588(05)70094-0.

Abstract

Future teletherapy in head and neck sites will include treatment of additional aggressive base-of-skull tumors, acoustic neuromas, and external ear canal tumors. In addition, protocols are being developed to take advantage of the enhanced precision of stereotaxic and conformal teletherapy to deliver concomitant boosts to gross or residual disease after surgery. These field-in-field boosts permit accelerated, hyperfractionated radiotherapy to be delivered to tumor, while maintaing or decreasing dose to surrounding normal tissues. The improved results of aggressive, accelerated fractionation schedules may be realized with acceptable morbidities through the use of more focused irradiation.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Brachytherapy
  • Fast Neutrons / therapeutic use
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
  • Humans
  • Neutrons / therapeutic use
  • Radioimmunotherapy
  • Radioisotope Teletherapy
  • Radiosurgery
  • Radiotherapy / methods
  • Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted
  • Radiotherapy, High-Energy