Radiotherapy in Japan

It was estimated that in 1978, 77,000 patients received radiation therapy; this means almost one half of the patients suffering from cancer were referred for radiation therapy. Surgery and chemotherapy have also been used either before, after, or during radiation therapy, aiming at further improvement of local control of cancer. Intraoperative irradiation, which was firstly developed in Japan, has been applied for treatment of cancers arising from stomach, pancreas and the tumors requiring further improvement of dose distributions in the target volume. Particle radiation therapy using fast neutrons and protons is in under clinical trial in order to evaluate the role of dose distribution as well as biological effect in radiation therapy influencing upon local control of the tumor.