Recent Advances in Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

The treatment of locally advanced or recurrent head and neck cancers has improved from single modality interventions of surgery and radiation therapy alone to include combined modality therapy with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Combined therapy has led to improved local control and disease-free survival. New developments in radiation oncology such as altered fractionation, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, charged-particle radiotherapy, neutron-beam radiotherapy, and brachytherapy have helped to improve this outlook even further. These recent advances allow for a higher dose to be delivered to the tumor while minimizing the dose delivered to the surrounding normal tissue. This article provides an update of the new developments in radiotherapy in the management of head and neck cancers.

Reengineering dendritic cell‐based anti‐cancer vaccines

“…The last decade has witnessed steady reductions in the death rates for many types of cancer. These reductions are largely due to improvements in early detection (1), advanced surgical techniques, refinements in the administration of radiation therapies (2), and the discovery of new, molecular‐targeted chemotherapeutic agents (3). However, countless instances occur either where tumors are not amenable to any existing therapy or they respond initially only to recur in forms resistant to front‐line therapies (4), leaving limited treatment options.…”

Long-term outcome following radical temporal bone resection for lateral skull base malignancies: a neurosurgical perspective

“…39 In contrast, new technologies, such as 3D conformal radiotherapy, IMRT, and charged-particle therapy, can now be applied in the treatment of various head and neck malignancies. 3 In the context of charged-particle therapy, the 5year overall local control and survival rates have been 60 and 33%, respectively, for carbon-ion therapy 23 and 74 and 44%, respectively, for proton beam therapy. 36 Even better results have been reported following IMRT for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, in which the 3-to 4-year local control and overall survival rates have been estimated as 82-98% and 77-88%, respectively, although the follow-up period remains short.…”

Effective Biomarkers and Radiation Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer

“…1 Advances in the delivery of radiation therapy, including image guidance and intensity-modulated radiation therapy, as well as advancements in diagnostic imaging, including high-resolution computed tomography scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography (PET), have allowed for accurate targeting and delivery of high doses of radiation to the tumor while minimizing the dose to the normal surrounding structures. [2][3][4][5][6][7] Furthermore, the application of concurrent systemic therapies have been shown to improve the efficacy of radiation in both the primary and adjuvant settings. [8][9][10][11][12][13] However, the addition of chemotherapy has also resulted in increased acute and late toxicities.…”