title: Recent advances in radiation oncology: intensity-modulated radiotherapy, a clinical perspective.
abstract: Radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of various malignancies, and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is an attractive option because it can deliver precise conformal radiation doses to the target while minimizing the dose to adjacent normal tissues. IMRT provides a highly conformal dose distribution by modulating the intensity of the radiation beam. A number of malignancies have been targeted by IMRT; this work reviews published data on the major disease sites treated with IMRT. The dosimetric advantage of IMRT has resulted in the significant reduction of adverse effects in some tumors. However, there are few clinical trials comparing IMRT and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), and no definite increase in survival or the loco-regional control rate by IMRT has been demonstrated in many malignancies. IMRT also requires greater time and resources to complete compared to 3D-CRT. In addition, the cost-effectiveness of IMRT versus 3D-CRT has not yet been established.
authors: Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Maidashi 3-1-1, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan, nakam@med.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
authors: Katsumasa
authors: K
authors: Nakamura
authors: Tomonari
authors: T
authors: Sasaki
authors: Saiji
authors: S
authors: Ohga
authors: Tadamasa
authors: T
authors: Yoshitake
authors: Kotaro
authors: K
authors: Terashima
authors: Kaori
authors: K
authors: Asai
authors: Keiji
authors: K
authors: Matsumoto
authors: Yoshiyuki
authors: Y
authors: Shioyama
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Honda
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000473:pathology; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*