ABSTRACT
Radiotherapy has consistently remained one of the two most effective treatments for cancer, with more than half of all patients estimated to receive radiotherapy at some point during their management (Tobias, 1996; Delaney et al., 2005). Surgery, which has the longer history, is also the primary form of treatment in many tumour types and leads to good therapeutic results in a range of early non-metastatic tumours. Radiotherapy is a good alternative to surgery for the long-term control of many tumours of the head and neck, lung, cervix, bladder, prostate and skin, in which it often achieves a reasonable probability of tumour control with good cosmetic results. In addition to these examples of the curative role of radiation therapy, many patients gain valuable palliation by radiation. Chemotherapy is the third most important treatment modality at the present time. Following the early use of nitrogen mustard during the 1920s it has emerged to the point where a large choice of drugs is available for the management of cancer, although no more than 10-20 agents are in common use. Many patients
receive chemotherapy at some point in their management and useful symptom relief and disease arrest are often obtained. Last, targeted agents (also called small or smart molecules) are being introduced into clinical practice, and some [e.g. epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors] have been associated with radiotherapy and shown promising clinical results.
