Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer

Real progress in the radiologic management of head and neck cancer has been made during the past decade. The understanding of how best to deliver radiation, either alone or in combination with other modalities, continues to mature. Technical delivery of radiation is evolving rapidly, vastly improving treatment precision. Complementary achievements in head and neck surgical technique, chemotherapy, and biologic therapy have opened new function-sparing treatment pathways for patients. The end result has been a steady, significant improvement in curative and recuperative outcomes for a cancer long fraught with failure. This article focuses on radiotherapy's role in this progress.