Radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer.

Nasopharyngeal cancers are a rarity in France. Radiotherapy is the cornerstone of treatment, frequently combined with chemotherapy. The technical modality of radiotherapy is complex in this disease, which is located in the vicinity of numerous organs at risk. In this article, we will present the updated guidelines of the French society for radiation oncology (Société française de radiothérapie oncologique, SFRO) on the indications, and technical details of radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal cancers.

Management of metallic implants in radiotherapy.

The number of patients with metallic implant and treated with radiotherapy is constantly increasing. These hardware are responsible for the deterioration in the quality of the CT images used at each stage of the radiation therapy, during delineation, dosimetry and dose delivery. We present the update of the recommendations of the French society of oncological radiotherapy on the pros and cons of the different methods, existing and under evaluation, which limit the impact of metallic implants on the quality and safety of radiation treatments.

Role of radiotherapy in the management of bladder cancer: Recommendations of the French society for radiation oncology.

We present the recommendations of the French society of oncological radiotherapy on the indications and techniques for external beam radiotherapy for bladder cancer.

Radiotherapy of breast cancer.

Adjuvant radiotherapy is an essential component of the treatment of breast cancer. After conservative surgery for an infiltrating carcinoma, radiotherapy must be systematically performed, regardless of the characteristics of the disease, because it decreases the rate of local recurrence and by this way, specific mortality. A boost dose over the tumour bed is required if the patient is younger than 50 years-old. Partial breast irradiation could be routinely proposed as an alternative to whole breast irradiation, but only in selected and informed patients. For ductal carcinoma in situ, adjuvant radiotherapy must be also systematically performed after lumpectomy. After mastectomy, chest wall irradiation is required for pT3-T4 tumours and if there is an axillary nodal involvement, whatever the number of involved lymph nodes. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy and mastectomy, in case of pN0 disease, chest wall irradiation is recommended if there is a clinically or radiologically T3-T4 or node positive disease before chemotherapy. Axillary irradiation is recommended only if there is no axillary surgical dissection and a positive sentinel lymph node. Supra- and infraclavicular irradiation is advised in case of positive axillary nodes. Internal mammary irradiation must be discussed case by case, according to the benefit/risk ratio (cardiac toxicity). Hypofractionation regimens (42.5Gy in 16 fractions, or 41,6Gy en 13 or 40Gy en 15) are equivalent to conventional irradiation and must prescribe after tumorectomy in selected patients. Delineation of the breast, the chest wall and the nodal areas are based on clinical and radiological evaluations. 3D-conformal irradiation is the recommended technique, intensity-modulated radiotherapy must be proposed only in specific clinical situations. Respiratory gating could be useful to decrease the cardiac dose. Concomitant administration of chemotherapy in unadvised, but hormonal treatment could be start with or after radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy of bone metastases.

We present the update of the recommendations of the French society of oncological radiotherapy on bone metastases. This is a common treatment in the management of patients with cancer. It is a relatively simple treatment with proven efficacy in reducing pain or managing spinal cord compression. More complex treatments by stereotaxis can be proposed for oligometastatic patients or in case of reirradiation. In this context, increased vigilance should be given to the risks to the spinal cord.

Prostate cancer brachytherapy: SFRO guidelines 2021.

Prostate brachytherapy techniques are described, concerning both permanent seed implant and high dose rate brachytherapy. The following guidelines are presented: brachytherapy indications, implant procedure for permanent low dose rate implants and high dose rate with source projector, as well as dose and dose-constraints objectives, immediate postoperative management, post-treatment evaluation, and long-term follow-up.

External radiotherapy for prostatic cancers.

We present the update of the recommendations of the French society of oncological radiotherapy on external radiotherapy of prostate cancer. External radiotherapy is intended for all localized prostate cancers, and more recently for oligometastatic prostate cancers. The irradiation techniques are detailed. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy combined with prostate image-guided radiotherapy is the recommended technique. A total dose of 74 to 80Gy is recommended in case of standard fractionation (2Gy per fraction). Moderate hypofractionation (total dose of 60Gy at a rate of 3Gy per fraction over 4 weeks) in the prostate has become a standard of therapy. Simultaneous integrated boost techniques can be used to treat lymph node areas. Extreme hypofractionation (35 to 40Gy in five fractions) using stereotactic body radiotherapy can be considered a therapeutic option to treat exclusively the prostate. The postoperative irradiation technique, indicated mainly in case of biological recurrence and lymph node involvement, is detailed.

Radiotherapy and pregnancy.

We present the updated recommendations of the French society for radiation oncology on radiotherapy and pregnancy. The occurrence of cancer during pregnancy is a rare event (approximately 1 in 1000 pregnancies). The risks for the embryo or the foetus depend on the gestational age at the time of irradiation. The main risks are malformations with microcephaly and mental retardation. There is also a risk of radiation-induced cancer in the unborn child. In the case of only supradiaphragmatic irradiation, radiotherapy can be performed most often in pregnant women without risk to the foetus. On the other hand, in the case of an indication for subdiaphragmatic irradiation, therapeutic termination of the pregnancy should be proposed. In all cases, when radiotherapy is chosen, a phantom estimation of the dose delivered to the foetus, confirmed by in vivo measurement, is recommended. Conformational radiotherapy is the preferred technique because of the lower dose delivered to the foetus (except in tumour locations where other techniques such as IMRT are recommended).

Radiation therapy: Regulatory framework and constraints.

The purpose of this article is to describe the regulatory framework of the radiotherapy practice in France.

Best practice in brachytherapy.

The 2020 recommendations for good brachytherapy procedures ("Recorad") are updated based on the 2016 article. This new brachytherapy article took into account recent data published in the literature as well as international recommendations. The different brachytherapy steps are successively described from the treatment preparation (brachytherapy technique prescription; procedure and material, dedicated images for planification, dose distribution analysis and validation) to the end of the procedure as well as post-treatment surveillance.

Quality/risk management system in radiotherapy: Changes afoot.

The French sanitary and regulatory context in which radiotherapy centres are comprised is evolving. Risk and quality management systems are currently adapting to these evolutions. The French nuclear safety agency (ASN) decision of July 1st 2008 on quality assurance obligations in radiotherapy has reached 10 years of age, and the French high authority of health (HAS) certification system 20 years now. Mandatory tools needed for the improvement of quality and safety in healthcare are now well known. From now on, the focus of healthcare policies is oriented towards evaluation of efficiency of these new organisations designed following ASN and HAS nationwide guidelines.

Guidelines for external radiotherapy and brachytherapy procedures: 3rd edition.

The purpose of the first two editions of the guidelines for external radiotherapy procedures, published in 2007 and 2016 respectively, was to issue recommendations aimed at optimising, harmonising and standardising practices. The purpose of this third edition, which includes brachytherapy, is identical while also taking into account recent technological improvements (intensity modulation radiation therapy, stereotactic radiotherapy, and three-dimension brachytherapy) along with findings from literature. Part one describes the daily use of general principles (quality, security, image-guided radiation therapy); part two describes each treatment step for the main types of cancer.

Radiotherapy of salivary gland tumours.

Primary tumours of the salivary glands account for about 5 to 10% of tumours of the head and neck. These tumours represent a multitude of situations and histologies, where surgery is the mainstay of treatment and radiotherapy is frequently needed for malignant tumours (in case of stage T3-T4, nodal involvement, extraparotid invasion, positive or close resection margins, histological high-grade tumour, lymphovascular or perineural invasion, bone involvement postoperatively, or unresectable tumours). The diagnosis relies on anatomic and functional MRI and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for the diagnostic of benign or malignant tumors. In addition to patient characteristics, the determination of primary and nodal target volumes depends on tumor extensions and stage, histology and grade. Therefore, radiotherapy of salivary gland tumors requires a certain degree of personalization, which has been codified in the recommendations of the French multidisciplinary network of expertise for rare ENT cancers (Refcor) and may justify a specialised multidisciplinary discussion. Although radiotherapy is usually recommended for malignant tumours only, recurrent pleomorphic adenomas may sometimes require radiotherapy based on multidisciplinary discussion. An update of indications and recommendations for radiotherapy for salivary gland tumours in terms of techniques, doses, target volumes and dose constraints to organs at risk of the French society for radiotherapy and oncology (SFRO) was reported in this article.

Radiotherapy of sinonasal cancers.

We present the update of the recommendations of the French society of radiotherapy and oncology on the indications and the technical methods of carrying out radiotherapy of sinonasal cancers. Sinonasal cancers (nasal fossae and sinus) account for 3 to 5% of all cancers of the head and neck. They include carcinomas, mucosal melanomas, sarcomas and lymphomas. The management of sinonasal cancers is multidisciplinary but less standardized than that of squamous cell carcinomas of the upper aerodigestive tract. As such, patients with sinonasal tumors can benefit from the expertise of the French expertise network for rare ENT cancers (Refcor). Knowledge of sinonasal tumour characteristics (histology, grade, risk of lymph node involvement, molecular characterization, type of surgery) is critical to the determination of target volumes. An update of multidisciplinary indications and recommendations for radiotherapy in terms of techniques, target volumes and radiotherapy fractionation of the French society of radiotherapy and oncology (SFRO) was reported in this manuscript.

Specificities of clinical research in radiotherapy.

The aim of this review is to present the specificities of clinical research in radiation oncology. Objectives are similar to all research in oncology: to improve the efficacy and to decrease toxic effects. Phase III trials remain the main methodology to demonstrate an improvement in efficiency, but phase I-II and registers are also important tools to validate an improvement in the therapeutic index with new technologies. In this article we discuss the special features of end-points, selection of population, and design for radiation oncology clinical trials. Quality control of delivered treatments is an important component of these protocols. Financial issues are also discussed, in the particular context of France.

Radiotherapy for oral cavity cancers.

Intensity modulated radiation therapy and brachytherapy are standard techniques of irradiation for the treatment of oral cavity cancers. These techniques are detailed in terms of indication, planning, delineation and selection of the volumes of interest, dosimetry and patients positioning control. This is an update of the guidelines of the French Society of Radiotherapy Correspondence.

External irradiation treatment process.

The purpose of this article is to describe the external irradiation process and updated recommendations of the French society for radiation oncology for patient follow-up.

Radiotherapy for patient with cardiac implantable electronic device, consensus from French radiation oncology society.

Radiotherapy in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device such as pacemakers or defibrillators, is a clinical situation that is becoming increasingly common. There is a risk of interaction between the magnetic field induced by accelerators and the cardiac implantable electronic device, but also a risk of device dysfunction due to direct and/or indirect irradiation if the cardiac implantable electronic device is in the field of treatment. The risk can be dose-dependent, but it is most often independent of the total dose and occurs randomly in case of neutron production (stochastic effect). The presence of this type of device is therefore described as a contraindication for radiotherapy by the French national agency for the safety of medicines and health products (Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé, ANSM). Nevertheless, since radiotherapy is often possible, it is advisable to respect the recommendations of good practice, in particular the eligibility criteria, the monitoring modalities before, during and after irradiation according to the type of treatment, the dose and the characteristics of the cardiac implantable electronic device. It is sometimes necessary to discuss repositioning the device and/or modifying the treatment plan to minimize the risk of cardiac implantable electronic device dysfunction. We present the update of the recommendations of the French society of oncological radiotherapy on in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device.

Radiation therapy for brain metastases.

We present the update of the recommendations of the French society for radiation oncology on radiation therapy for the management of brain metastases. It has evolved in recent years and has become more complex. As the life expectancy of patients has increased and retreatments have become more frequent, side effects must be absolutely avoided. Cognitive side effects must in particular be prevented, and the most modern radiation therapy techniques must be used systematically. New prognostic classifications specific to the primary tumour of patients, advances in imaging and radiation therapy technology and new systemic therapeutic strategies, are making treatment more relevant. Stereotactic radiation therapy has supplanted whole-brain radiation therapy both for patients with metastases in place and for those who underwent surgery. Hippocampus protection is possible with intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Its relevance in terms of cognitive functioning should be more clearly demonstrated but the requirement for its use is constantly increasing. New targeted cancer treatment therapies based on the nature of the primitive have complicated the notion of the place and timing of radiation therapy and the discussion during multidisciplinary care meeting to indicate the best sequences is becoming a challenging issue as data on the interaction between treatments remain to be documented. In the end, although aimed at patients in the palliative phase, the management of brain metastases is one of the locations for which technical reflection is the most challenging and treatment become increasingly personalized.

Role of radiotherapy in the treatment of primary vaginal cancer: Recommendations of the French society for radiation oncology.

Primary vaginal cancers are rare tumours, for which external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy are major treatment tools. Given the complexity of brachytherapy techniques, the treatment should be performed in specialised centres. We present the recommendations of the French society for radiation oncology on the indications and techniques for external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy for primary vaginal cancer.