Current Radiotherapy Considerations for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Wai Tong Ng; James C H Chow; Jonathan J Beitler; June Corry; William Mendenhall; Anne W M Lee; K Thomas Robbins; Sandra Nuyts; Nabil F Saba; Robert Smee; William A Stokes; Primož Strojan; Alfio Ferlito

doi:10.3390/cancers14235773

Current Radiotherapy Considerations for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Cancers (Basel). 2022 Nov 24;14(23):5773. doi: 10.3390/cancers14235773.

Authors

Wai Tong Ng^{1

2}, James C H Chow³, Jonathan J Beitler⁴, June Corry⁵, William Mendenhall⁶, Anne W M Lee¹, K Thomas Robbins⁷, Sandra Nuyts⁸, Nabil F Saba⁹, Robert Smee¹⁰, William A Stokes¹¹, Primož Strojan¹², Alfio Ferlito¹³

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Oncology Center and Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Cancer Metastasis and Personalized Therapy, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518009, China.
² Department of Clinical Oncology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁴ Knox County Health Clinic, Rockland, ME 04841, USA.
⁵ Division of Radiation Oncology, GenesisCare Radiation Oncology, St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3065, Australia.
⁶ Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
⁷ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62794-9620, USA.
⁸ Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
⁹ Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Radiation Oncology, The Prince of Wales Cancer Centre, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
¹¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
¹² Department of Radiation Oncology, Institute of Oncology, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
¹³ Coordinator of the International Head and Neck Scientific Group, 35100 Padua, Italy.

Abstract

Radiotherapy is the primary treatment modality for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Successful curative treatment requires optimal radiotherapy planning and precise beam delivery that maximizes locoregional control while minimizing treatment-related side effects. In this article, we highlight considerations in target delineation, radiation dose, and the adoption of technological advances with the aim of optimizing the benefits of radiotherapy in NPC patients.

Keywords: adaptive planning; artificial intelligence; nasopharyngeal cancer; particle therapy; radiotherapy; target delineation.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

W.T.N. and A.W.M.L. are supported by the Shenzhen Key Laboratory for cancer metastasis and personalized therapy (ZDSYS20210623091811035) and the Shenzhen Fundamental Research Program, China (CYJ20210324114404013).