Practical contouring guidelines with an MR-based atlas of brainstem structures involved in radiation-induced nausea and vomiting

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) leads to increased reduction in late toxicities compared to 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) techniques [1]. In IMRT, dose distributions conform to tumor topography while simultaneously limiting the normal tissue volume exposed to relatively high radiation doses. Therefore, IMRT has become the recommended treatment strategy for many cases of locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC). However, IMRT treatment plans for HNC typically use a high number of radiation fields and may be associated with new beam-path non-target tissue toxicities such as anterior oral mucositis, occipital scalp hair loss, headache, nausea, and vomiting [2].

Source: Radiotherapy and Oncology - August 29, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Arnaud Beddok, Jean-Christophe Faivre, Alexandre Coutte, Jennifer Le Gu évelou, Julien Welmant, Jean-Baptiste Clavier, Sébastien Guihard, Guillaume Janoray, Valentin Calugaru, Yoann Pointreau, Alexis Lacout, Julia Salleron, Michel Lefranc, Dominique Has Tags: Original article Source Type: research