[Reirradiations: Which decision-making criteria?]

[Reirradiations: Which decision-making criteria?] Cancer Radiother. 2019 Aug 07;: Authors: Cosset JM, Chargari C, Créhange G Abstract The decision to reirradiate a volume which had been previously irradiated remains in 2019 one of the most difficult challenge for a radiation oncologist. Such a decision has to be based on a number of clinical and technological criteria, and the radiation oncologist will have to answer three main questions: i) can the patient clinically tolerate a second irradiation in the same previously irradiated area? While waiting for fully reliable individual tests of radiosensitivity, one has to take into account the tolerance of the first irradiation, as well as the comorbidities and/or habits which could impact the patient intrinsic radiosensitivity; ii) do the technical data of the first radiotherapy allow a re-irradiation? Unfortunately, and essentially when the discussion of re-irradiating the patient occurs many years (or even decades) after the first treatment, those precise technical data can be missing; iii) which technique should be used for the re-irradiation? In such a specific situation, the patient should be offered the more precise modern technology: stereotactic radiotherapy, protons, brachytherapy (low-, high-, or pulsed-dose rate). The indisputable improvement of the ballistic precision linked to our new technologies should lead to refine and to develop the indications of re-irradiation in the...
Source: Cancer Radiotherapie - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Cancer Radiother Source Type: research