Henri Coutard (1876-1950): A Pioneer of Fractionated Radiotherapy Regimens.

Henri Coutard was a prominent French roentgen therapist (radiation therapist). He was a pioneer physician and scientist who established the development of the "protracted-fractional method" of radiation dosing. He treated laryngeal cancer with super-voltage x-rays and also published data on five-year survival rates while his contemporary physicians indulged in treating cancer with radioactive sources. Due to his significant contribution regarding the use of fractionated dose regimens to treat cancer, in today's world most of the tumors are treated using the same principle which is in itself a great achievement in the field of radiation oncology. Due to his work, present-day radiotherapy practice is focused on therapeutic ratios to treat cancer.