Head and Neck Cancer

Carbon ion radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

Carbon ion radiotherapy is mainly indicated for diseases other than squamous cell carcinoma (non-squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, bone and soft tissue tumors). Conventional radiation therapy and drug therapy are often not effective for diseases other than squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, hope lies with carbon ion radiotherapy in cases where surgery is difficult and there are few effective treatments. Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx are excluded from the indications for carbon ion radiotherapy because these conditions respond well to conventional radiation therapy. However, squamous cell carcinoma at sites other than the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx, in which the effectiveness of conventional radiation therapy may be poor, or it may be difficult to administer an adequate radiation dose because the sites are near an important organ, is an indication for carbon ion radiotherapy.
Although carbon ion radiotherapy is indicated if surgery is difficult or not desired, it is not indicated if the disease has spread to other organs (distant metastasis). This is because even if the disease of the head or neck is treated with carbon ion radiotherapy, a cure cannot be expected if disease is present in other areas. However, there are also conditions and situations in which long-term survival is possible even when distant metastasis is present, and carbon ion radiotherapy may be indicated in such cases (e.g., lung metastasis of adenoid cystic carcinoma).

Treatment record in QST hospital