Radiotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Radiotherapy, including details on cancer treatment, side effects.

Radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma--transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional methods.

Teo PM, Ma BB, Chan AT

Department of Clinical Oncology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.

This review describes the clinical background that underlies the transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional (3D) planning techniques in the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). A systematic search of the Medline was performed using 'nasopharyngeal carcinoma', 'radiotherapy', '3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy', 'stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy' and 'intensity-modulated radiotherapy' as keywords. Citing evidence from the published literature and their own institutional experience, the authors critically examined the positive impact of 3D methods--with emphasis on intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)--on target coverage and geometric accuracy, sparing of normal organs, and dosimetric homogeneity. Potential problems related to the widespread practice of IMRT such as quality assurance, utilization of medical resources and the risk of developing radiation-induced secondary cancers were highlighted. Application of IMRT within the context of altered fractionation, dose escalation and concurrent chemotherapy were discussed. The article concluded with a suggested treatment approach and research direction for different stages of NPC.

Published 15 November 2004 in Radiother Oncol, 73(2): 163-72.
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