Post-Radiation Dysphagia and Its Prevention
<p id="p1">Radiotherapy has become a primary treatment modality for head and neck cancers (HNC), aimed at organ and functional preservation. Despite its effectiveness, conventional radiotherapy often leads to severe side effects, notably swallowing dysfunction, or dysphagia, which is a common and di...
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| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | Capítulo de libro |
| Lenguaje: | inglés |
| Publicado: |
IntechOpen
2024
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/1192339 |
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| Sumario: | <p id="p1">Radiotherapy has become a primary treatment modality for head and neck cancers (HNC), aimed at organ and functional preservation. Despite its effectiveness, conventional radiotherapy often leads to severe side effects, notably swallowing dysfunction, or dysphagia, which is a common and distressing complication. This condition greatly impacts the quality of life (QoL) of patients, causing issues such as aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, and difficulties with speaking and eating. Advancements in radiotherapy, particularly intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), offer the potential to reduce these adverse effects while maintaining or even improving therapeutic efficacy. One key advantage of IMRT is its ability to shape the radiation beams to precisely match the contours of the tumour, allowing for optimal targeting while sparing critical swallowing-related structures such as the pharyngeal muscles, base of the tongue, larynx, and upper oesophageal sphincter. Together, these structures are referred to as dysphagia aspiration-related structures (DARS). This level of precision can lead to lower rates of swallowing dysfunction and other complications commonly associated with traditional radiation therapy methods. In conclusion, IMRT represents a significant advancement in radiation therapy technology and has the potential to reduce swallowing dysfunction and other side effects seen with conventional radiotherapy.</p> |
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| ISBN: | 978-0-85466-023-0 |
| DOI: | 10.5772/intechopen.1007564 |