Radiation as an adjunct to surgery

Abstract

Almost one-half of all cancer patients are treated with radiation at some time during the duration of their illness. This chapter focuses on the role of radiotherapy as an adjunct to surgery, both as adjuvant treatment to standard surgery (e.g., in rectal cancer) and as adjuvant therapy to organ-preserving surgery, as a substitute to more radical surgery (e.g., lumpectomy and radiation rather than mastectomy for breast cancer). We begin by briefly reviewing the biological and physical basis for using radiotherapy and the rationale for combining surgery and radiation for the treatment of cancer. It should be noted that radiation is a primary curative modality for several cancer subtypes (e.g., seminoma, lymphoma, head and neck cancer) and has a critical role in the palliation of patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease. The role of radiation in these settings is well addressed in other textbooks.1,2 © 2008 Springer New York.