最新医療における放射線治療の役割

New technologies of radiation therapy such as image-guided radiation therapy, stereotactic irradiation, and brachytherapy using remotely controlled after-loading system have made it possible to deliver ideally distributed radiation dose to the target with great accuracy, while sparing the adjacent organs. As a result, tumor control rate by radiation therapy improved markedly and became excellent alternative to surgery for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic brain tumors, early stage lung cancer, and low-risk prostate cancer. In locally advanced stage of cancer, randomized controlled trials established the chemoradiation therapy as a standard treatment option for patients with head and neck cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and cervical cancer. Radiation therapy is also a valuable treatment for palliation of local symptoms caused by cancer with consistently high response rates.

四国医学雑誌 : http://www.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp/article/0012780.html