Innovations in Radiation Oncology (Medical Radiology / Radiation Oncology)

The book contains up-to-date reports of areas of growth in radiation oncology written for the practising radiation oncologist. Early chapters review conservative treatments that preserve the function and maintain or improve tumor control rates in breast, rectum, anus, head and neck, soft tissues and bones, and the eye. This is followed by a section dealing with extended field therapy encompassing total body irradiation, half body irradiation and systemic therapy with radionuclide-labelled antibodies. The potential roles of three new diagnostic imaging technologies (CT, MRI and PET) in radiotherapy are considered. Various modifications of treatment are reviewed, including hyperfractionation, accelerated treatment, accelerated hyperfractionation and neutron therapy. Also discussed is the clinical use of adjuvants to radiotherapy, such as radiosensitizers, cytotoxic drugs, interstitial and external hyperthermia and bone fixation in metastatic disease. Current innovations for predicting tumor responses are described and a national survey of the quality of radiotherapy in the U.S.A. is reviewed. Finally, two chapters consider the quality of patient survival.