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Radiotherapy in the Management of Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity

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Contemporary Oral Oncology

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Abstract

Treatment of advanced head and neck malignancies is generally a combined modality approach, often requiring surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy to obtain the best control rates. Oral cavity cancers follow this paradigm. While certain head and neck sites (e.g., oropharynx, larynx) have experienced drastic shifts toward nonoperative management, the oral cavity largely remains a surgical disease. Radiotherapy is frequently used in the adjuvant setting, to improve both local-regional control and survival. The overarching paradigm is for surgical resection followed by adjuvant therapy based on the presence of adverse pathologic features. Not all patients, however, are able or willing to undergo surgery; consequently, certain cases may be managed with (chemo- and/or) radiotherapy alone. This chapter will briefly review the use of radiation therapy in the treatment of oral cavity cancers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would gratefully acknowledge the tremendous assistance of Rachel Hackett, CMD, and Anthony Lister, DDS. Mrs. Hackett graciously provided the pictures and assisted in the acquisition of the images seen in this chapter. Dr. Lister created the customized dental devices shown in this chapter.

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  1. Department of Radiation Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Michael Mix MD & Anurag K. Singh MD

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  1. Michael Mix MD
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  2. Anurag K. Singh MD
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Correspondence to Anurag K. Singh MD .

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  1. Department of Head and Neck, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, USA

    Moni Abraham Kuriakose

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Mix, M., Singh, A.K. (2017). Radiotherapy in the Management of Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity. In: Kuriakose, M. (eds) Contemporary Oral Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14917-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14917-2_4

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