Hypofractionated and Stereotactic Radiation Therapy

This handbook summarizes the data and techniques for hypofractionation and stereotactic radiation in a clinically-accessible way. Hypofractionated radiation therapy, which consists of larger-dose radiation treatments that are given over a shorter time period compared to conventional radiation fraction sizes, is used to treat a variety of cancers, including prostate, breast, lung,  and colorectal.  Conventional radiation therapy and hypofractionated radiation therapy have different effectiveness rates for cancer treatment and have different impacts on normal tissues in terms of causing toxicity. There is a significant and growing body of literature on the use of different dosing regimens to treat a variety of cancers and radiation oncologists need to keep up with the various dosing schedules, the effect of each regimen on cancer control in different cancers, and how the different schedules affect each organ in terms of toxicity. The book thus provides concise information ranging from commonly-used dose-fractionation schemes for hypofractionated and stereotactic body radiotherapy to simulation and treatment specifications to published safety and efficacy data. Chapters additionally examine the biological rationales for the efficacy of hypofractionated radiation; present clinical studies that demonstrate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated radiation treatment in a variety of cancers; and describe the advances in technology that have allowed hypofractionated radiation to be safely given. This is an ideal guide for radiation oncology clinicians and trainees. 

Orit Kaidar-Person, Department of Radiation Oncology,University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina,USAOncology Institute, Radiation Oncology and Neuro-Oncology Unit,Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel

Ronald Chen, MD, MPH Department of Radiation Oncology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine 101 Manning Drive, CB 7512 Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Lawrence B. Marks, MD Department of Radiation Oncology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine 1043 NC Clinical Cancer Building Chapel Hill, NC 27599

“This book is an excellent review of the literature supporting the usage of hypofractionated radiotherapy. It is well organized and presents in tabular format important indications for hypofractionated radiotherapy. Of the readership of Neurosurgery, CNS radiation oncologists, brain and spine tumor neurosurgeons, and radiation oncology residents would particularly benefit from the expertise provided in this review. Community radiation oncologists would also find this review quite useful given the relative novelty of hypofractionated radiotherapy … .” (Michael Chan, Neurosurgery, Vol. 85 (3), September, 2019)

“The book provides a his­tory of radiobiology and hypofractionation, giving a concise background of how both radiation therapy and the understandings of radiobiology have co-evolved before discussing further the physics behind hypofractionation and SRS/SBRT. …  the book is very well presented and is designed to be a ‘handbook’ that is both relevant and accessible, with current information enabling the reader to locate and utilise practical and supported data.” (Craig Jones, RAD Magazine, March, 2019)