The changing role of radiation oncology in cancer management.

Radiation therapy has made major contributions to the improved quality of care for the cancer patient. This quality improvement has derived not only from a greater understanding of the natural history of the disease process but also from a more critical evaluation of the results of clinical treatment. Today, clinical radiation therapy stands on a firm foundation of basic understanding of ionizing radiations and its effect on tissue, the biology of the effect in normal tissues and tumor. This explosive growth in knowledge relative to radiation therapy physics, clinical treatment planning, the utilization of computers in radiation therapy as well as basic information in radiation biology and how it might be implemented in clinical situations are well known. Data will be presented to illustrate how major and important applications of basic physics and biologic data in clinical practice are beginning to influence the changing character of cancer management. These new techniques, now being implemented in general clinical practice, offer major potential opportunities toward improving the expectation for cure of many cancers, not cured in the past.