Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer

Book excerpt: The first clinical book on the hottest topic in radiation oncology, this timely teaching text offers step-by-step guidance in use of IMRT for cancers at each subsite of the head and neck. The book's high-end content gives readers the clinical decision-making expertise and technical proficiency to incorporate this state-of-the-art radiation treatment technique into practice. Unique to this text is the site-specific instruction on target determination and delineation, to ensure adequate treatment of the tumor target while sparing adjacent normal tissue. More than 250 detailed full-color and black-and-white illustrations clarify each step in clinical implementations of head and neck cancer treatment, especially IMRT. The book provides a concise, pertinent overview of the natural course, lymph node spread, diagnostic criteria, and therapeutic options for each head and neck cancer subsite. Numerous tables provide extensive summaries of the IMRT literature. Figures with succinct explanatory text demonstrate the patterns of direct tumor extension and nodal metastasis with which target volumes are determined and delineated. Clinical outcomes for patients treated with IMRT and with conventional techniques are also included.