title: [Intensity modulated radiation therapy for head and neck cancer: The standard].
abstract: Combined radical radiation therapy for head and neck carcinoma should be planned with intensity modulated beams to provide a rapid answer to patients' requirements in terms of quality of treatment. The most frequent late toxicity of radiation therapy is xerostomia, which may be prevented by using this technique able to significantly spare salivary glands irradiation. Selection of indications is a very important step. The objective of sparing salivary functions, strongly associated with optimization criteria of quality of life should be considered as a main objective in irradiation of head and neck tumours. The various possibilities offered by this technique allowing to boost a target volume included in prophylactically irradiated regions could offer the possibility to escalate the dose in selected patients. The feasibility of this process is currently validated in prospective studies. Finally, routine implementation of intensity modulated radiation therapy should be performed with strong and robust quality assurance procedures, ensuring that the expected benefit could be increased with the current developments by using rotational techniques.
authors.affiliation: Département de radiothérapie, centre Georges-François-Leclerc, 1, rue du Pr-Marion, 21079 Dijon cedex, France. pmaingon@cgfl.fr
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maingon
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Créhange
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chamois
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Khoury
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Truc
mesh_terms: D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; D017322:Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D058958:Organs at Risk; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control