Carbon Ion Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer - Abstract
Radiotherapy (RT) is a definitive treatment option for cancers of the head and neck. Indeed, the most common pathology of head and neck lesions, Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC), is radiosensitive. Recently, RT with chemotherapy has been shown to improve the local control and survival rates among patients with head and neck SCC. However, tumors arising in the head and neck region are of a variety of histological types, including adenoid cystic carcinoma, mucosal malignant melanoma, and bone and
soft tissue sarcoma. Most of these tumors are resistant to RT, and therefore, RT is limited to postoperative or palliative care for these tumors. Carbon ions offer a biological advantage because, as compared with photons, carbon ions have higher linear energy transfer components in the Bragg peak. Carbon ions also provide a higher degree of physical selectivity because they have a finite range in tissue. Therefore, carbon ion RT permits better dose conformity than can be obtained with photon RT. Consequently,
carbon ion RT can potentially control radio-resistant tumors while sparing normal tissues. This review summarizes clinical studies of carbon ion radiotherapy for head and neck cancers, especially non-SCCs.