Adaptive radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

Introduction: Radiation therapy has long played an integral role in the manage¬ment of locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC), both for organ preservation and to improve tumor control in the postoperative setting. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of adaptive radiotherapy on dosimetric, clinical, and toxicity outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiation therapy treatment. Many sources have reported volume reductions in the primary target, nodal volumes, and parotid glands over treatment, which may result in unintended dosimetric changes affecting the side effect profile and even efficacy of the treatment. Adaptive radiotherapy (ART) is an interesting treatment paradigm that has been developed to directly adjust to these changes.Material and methods: This research contains the results of 15 studies, including clinical trials, randomized prospective and retrospective studies. The researches analyze the impact of radiation therapy on changes in tumor volume and the relationship with planned radiation dose delivery, as well as the possibility of using adaptive radiotherapy in response to identified changes. Also, medical articles and abstracts that are closely related to the title of adaptive radiotherapy were researched.Results: The application of ART significantly improved the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer, as well as two-year locoregional control of the disease. The average time to apply ART is the middle of the treatment course approximately 17 to 20 fractions of the treatment.Conclusion: Based on systematic review of the literature, evidence based changes in target volumes and dose reduction at OAR, adaptive radiotherapy is recommended treatment for most of the patients with head and neck cancer with the support of image-guided radiotherapy.