Involved field irradiation for the treatment of esophageal cancer: is it better than elective nodal irradiation?

Liyang Jiang; Xin Zhao; Xue Meng; Jinming Yu

doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2014.11.045

Involved field irradiation for the treatment of esophageal cancer: is it better than elective nodal irradiation?

Cancer Lett. 2015 Feb 1;357(1):69-74. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.11.045. Epub 2014 Nov 24.

Authors

Liyang Jiang¹, Xin Zhao², Xue Meng¹, Jinming Yu³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China.
² Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
³ Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China. Electronic address: sdyujinming@126.com.

PMID: 25464112
DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.11.045

Abstract

Esophageal cancer (EC) is an extremely aggressive and lethal malignancy with an increasing incidence worldwide. Currently, the combination of radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy is performed for nonsurgical EC. However, there is no clear consensus on the accurate definition of the clinical target volume. Still, elective nodal irradiation (ENI) is the conventional remedy adopted for EC patients, while severe radiotherapy-related toxicities would occur in at least half of patients. Involved field irradiation (IFI) is a selective way to decrease the irradiation volume and thereby to decline toxicities. This review centers on the modality of IFI and compares the treatment efficacy between IFI and ENI.

Keywords: Elective nodal irradiation; Esophageal cancer; Involved field irradiation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Esophageal Neoplasms / pathology*
Esophageal Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
Humans
Lymph Nodes / pathology*
Lymph Nodes / radiation effects*
Lymphatic Metastasis