title: Technological advances in radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.
abstract: Radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy and surgery represent the main treatment modalities in esophageal cancer. The goal of modern radiotherapy approaches, based on recent technological advances, is to minimize post-treatment complications by improving the gross tumor volume definition (positron emission tomography-based planning), reducing interfraction motion (image-guided radiotherapy) and intrafraction motion (respiratory-gated radiotherapy), and by better dose delivery to the precisely defined planning target volume (intensity-modulated radiotherapy and proton therapy). Reduction of radiotherapy-related toxicity is fundamental to the improvement of clinical results in esophageal cancer, although the dose escalation concept is controversial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Charles University in Praha, Faculty of Medicine at Hradec Kralove, University Teaching Hospital in Hradec Kralove, Sokolska 581, 50005 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. vosmik@fnhk.cz
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vosmik
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petera
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sirak
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hodek
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paluska
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dolezal
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kopacova
mesh_terms: D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016629:Esophagectomy; D006801:Humans; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000639:trends*; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends; D011881:Radiotherapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000639:trends*; D016896:Treatment Outcome