Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer

Yeh, Shyh-An M.D.

¹Department of Radiation Oncology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Address for correspondence and reprint requests: Shyh-An Yeh, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, E-Da Hospital, No. 1, E-Da Road, Yan-Chau Shiang, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan 82445 (e-mail: [email protected]).

Seminars in Plastic Surgery 24(2):p 127-136, May 2010.

Treatment for patients with head and neck cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach. Radiotherapy is employed as a primary treatment or as an adjuvant to surgery. Each specific subsite dictates the appropriate radiotherapy techniques, fields, dose, and fractionation scheme. Quality of life is also an important issue in the management of head and neck cancer. The radiation-related complications have a tremendous impact on the quality of life. Modern radiotherapy techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy and image-guided radiotherapy, can offer precise radiation delivery and reduce the dose to the surrounding normal tissues without compromise of target coverage. In the future, efforts should be made in the exploration of novel strategies to improve treatment outcome in patients with head and neck cancer.