[Recent progress in radiotherapy].
Radiation therapy has considerably evolved in 1 century. After the revolution due to cobalt in the beginning of the sixties, we are now entering the 2nd revolution in three fields in external radiotherapy.


METHODS
the development of quality assurance programmes gives the guarantee that the treatment is done as it is prescribed. Technology: recent developments allow conformal radiation therapy which permits to increase the dose without increasing side effects. Biology: the implementation of predictive assays will permit to choose the best modality of treatment for each patient. In brachytherapy, the use of high dose rate radioactive sources increases indications in locations not yet accessible. Pulse dose rate brachytherapy increases radio-protection and will make optimization possible in complex volumes. In the future, indications of curative radiotherapy will probably increase in regard to earlier diagnosis of many cancers and to increase of efficacy of general treatments on metastatic disease.
Bey
P
P
Départment de radiothérapie, centre Alexis-Vautrin, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.
Aletti
P
P
Lapeyre
M
M
Marchal
C
C
Peiffert
D
D
D001918:Brachytherapy; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011878:Radiotherapy; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage
Progrès récents en radiothérapie.