New developments in radiotherapy of head and neck cancer: Higher precision with less patient discomfort?

Over the last decade, major progress has been made in radiation therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The most important developments include the use of altered fractionation schedules [1] and technological improvements that have led to the use of more advanced radiation delivery techniques, such as CT-based 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and possibly protons, aiming at better tumour dose coverage and/or reduction of radiation-induced side effects [2-5]. Other important developments include the addition of concomitant chemotherapy [6], and more recently, the addition of targeted therapy to radiation [7], that resulted in a significant improvement of loco-regional tumour control and overall survival. In this special issue of Radiotherapy and Oncology, which is completely dedicated to head and neck cancer, various aspects of new developments in radiation of head and neck cancer are presented.