Parotid gland cancer treatment with radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is one of the leading methods currently used to manage patients with parotid gland cancer. Along with surgery, it helps to achieve good results and successfully prevent relapses. Radiotherapy might become a method of adjuvant therapy (additional treatment) and a primary method of patient management. Also, this method suits high-stage tumors with distant organ metastases and low-stage isolated tumors. Various radiotherapy apparatuses can deliver high-focused beams of ionizing exposure to prevent surrounding healthy tissues from excessive damage. As a result, patients receive more chances to save the function of face structures and parotid gland after the treatment compared to traditional surgery. To pick the most suitable program for radiotherapy, the patient must conduct 3D radiation planning first. During a treatment session, the patient sits or lies on the table with a fixed head and a big apparatus pointed at his parotid gland tumor. Typically, a single treatment session takes up to one minute or less, depending on the overall delivered dosage of ionizing exposure. The overall number of procedures during the radiotherapy course might vary from 10 to 30, depending on the overall dosage, patient’s general condition, and reaction during treatment.