Image-guided radiotherapy in head-and-neck oncology

Background Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) is nowadays a routine procedure for ensuring precise irradiation of head-and-neck tumors. Methods An overview, summary, and discussion of important literature in the field. Results In the last few decades, IGRT, together with intensity-modulated radiotherapy, has become the worldwide standard in the treatment of head-and-neck malignancies. The dosimetric benefits have also been often confirmed in prospective studies. The same is true for potential clinical benefits, although research in this direction is still ongoing. There have been substantial developments on the technical level-from two-dimensional IGRT, to the today mostly implemented CT-based 3D-volumetric approach to MR-based online imaging-and also towards novel applications, such as adaptive radiotherapy. Conclusions IGRT in the treatment of head-and-neck tumors offers a safe and valid possibility to identify and correct systematic and random errors and variations in order to improve the quality of the administered radiotherapy and consequently treatment outcomes in terms of toxicity and tumor control.