The aim of radiation therapy is to deliver a precisely measured dose of radiation to a defined tumor volume with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue, resulting in eradication of the tumor and a high quality of life. This definition and principle are clearly demonstrated in this issue of the Michigan Oncology Journal, highlighting the radiation oncology program at the University of Michigan Cancer Center. Lichter and Pierce have written an essay on one of the current controversies facing oncologists treating women with breast cancer. It used to be said to patients that they could choose between lumpectomy and radiation therapy or modified radical mastectomy. Now, the evidence to provide radiation therapy to women who have had a mastectomy and have four or more nodes is compelling.
Most radiation oncologists argue that the evidence is clear for women with one to four nodes.
Sandler and McLaughlin highlight the program's initiatives in delivering radiation therapy to men with prostate cancer. Conformal radiation is not only being studied in prostate cancer but also in intrahepatic malignancies. McGinn and Lawrence define the role that radiation can play in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. In this setting, external beam irradiation is combined with hepatic arterial chemotherapy. Dr. Eisbruch describes the advances in radiation treatment for head and neck cancer.