title: Innovations in image-guided radiotherapy.
abstract: The limited ability to control for the location of a tumour compromises the accuracy with which radiation can be delivered to tumour-bearing tissue. The resultant requirement for larger treatment volumes to accommodate target uncertainty restricts the radiation dose because more surrounding normal tissue is exposed. With image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) these volumes can be optimized and tumoricidal doses can be delivered, achieving maximal tumour control with minimal complications. Moreover, with the ability of high-precision dose delivery and real-time knowledge of the target volume location, IGRT has initiated the exploration of new indications for radiotherapy, some of which were previously considered infeasible.
authors.affiliation: UZ Brussel, Oncologisch Centrum, Radiotherapie, Laarbeeklaan 101, B-1090 Brussels, Belgium. dirk.verellen@uzbrussel.be
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Verellen
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Ridder
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Linthout
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tournel
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Soete
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Storme
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D020266:Radiotherapy, Conformal / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods