Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancers

In summary, successful treatment of head and neck squamous cell cancer often requires a carefully planned combination of different treatment modalities to achieve optimal tumour control at a minimal level of side-effects. At present, advanced tumours appear to be best treated with continuous-course radiotherapy combined with concurrent chemotherapy. The optimal chemoradiotherapy schedules and the most effective chemotherapy agents to be used remain to be determined. In radiotherapy for head and neck cancers, giving the radiotherapy as a continuous treatment whenever feasible, with no gaps, is essential. Novel markers of cell proliferation may be helpful in defining the optimally fractionated treatment schedule for individual patients. Advanced radiation technologies, including IMRT, can provide high-dose, tissue-sparing radiotherapy to the head and neck region. New mucosa protectants, including GM-CSF, might also prove useful in the treatment of head and neck cancer.