[Intensity modulated radiotherapy for cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract]

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is a new high precision radiotherapy technique, allowing to protect some normal tissues without compromising the tumour cure probability. This is a more complex and more costly technique, compared to conventional radiotherapy, which needs increased quality assurance programs. The early results obtained in head-and-neck carcinomas have been very promising but would need to be confirmed in randomised trials to determine whether these results can be transposed to the majority of these cancers and especially to locally advanced cases, which are the most frequently occurring forms of these cancers.