title: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy: examples of its utility in head and neck cancer.
abstract: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) has been available at Peter MaCallum Cancer Centre (PMCC) since November 2000. The present report illustrates two cases of our early experience with IMRT. Case 1 is a 66-year-old man with a T(1)N(2)M(0) nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with chemo-radiotherapy using parotid-sparing IMRT. Fourteen months following treatment he remains in complete remission, with salivary function assessed using a xerostomia-specific quality of life questionnaire, having returned to near pretreatment levels by 12 months. Case 2 is a 70-year-old man with a T(4)N(0)M(0) base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemo-radiotherapy after refusing radical surgery. He had received subtotal nodal irradiation to 36 Gy in 1994 for Hodgkins disease stage IIA. A radical dose was still achievable despite previous irradiation without exceeding unacceptable spinal cord dose with IMRT. He remains in complete remission 14 months from his initial presentation without evidence of neurological toxicity. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy allows sparing of critical normal structures in the head and neck without compromising dose to the tumour. It is, therefore, desirable for several clinical applications and essential in some, if unacceptable compromises are not to be made.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Sandro.Porceddu@petermac.org.au
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Porceddu
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hope
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wills
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cramb
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rischin
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Corry
authors.forename: Lester
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D020266:Radiotherapy, Conformal; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*