Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) in the Planning of Hypofractionated Treatment in Head and Neck Tumors

Abstract

Head and neck cancer (HNCC) is the sixth most common cancer with an incidence of approximately 600,000 cases per year and 300,000 annual deaths worldwide1y2. In Cuba, cancer of the larynx is the fourth cause in incidence, being the fourth cause of cancer death in men. Radiotherapy constitutes an important modality in the control of these tumors and the Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) is a new advance in this field. With it, it is possible to improve dose distribution, decreasing the dose in adjacent healthy tissues and escalating dose in tumor. In this work we present 33 patients of National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology in Cuba (INOR), in whom the IMRT was used as a treatment technique with a hypofractionation of the dose. Their response was observed at the end of the treatment and one month later. 56% (19) of the patients had a complete response to treatment at the primary site of the tumor and neck. 10% (3) had no response, progressed. 11 of the patients had no response at the lymph node site at the end of treatment, 8 of these 11 had complete remission one month after radiotherapy ended.