Long-term effects and secondary tumors

• The issue of secondary tumours as long-term effects of radiation therapy has gained increased importance as the life expectancy of cancer patients has increased due to improvements in detecting and treating their primary tumours. Current knowledge indicates that radiotherapy leads to a small but significant risk of inducing cancers which is often referred to as the price to pay for the effectiveness of this treatment modality. Nevertheless, the levels of incidence for the long-term effects of radiation therapy may be influenced by many factors that could be both treatment-related and patient-related and therefore proposals have been made to include risk estimations in the process of treatment optimisation. This chapter summarises the current knowledge concerning the induction of secondary cancers after radiotherapy and discusses their consequences for the therapeutic use of ionising radiation.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Cancer och onkologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Cancer and Oncology (hsv//eng)

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