Current problems in experimental and clinical radiotherapy

Although there has been dramatic progress in radiotherapy for several tumor types during the last decades, it cannot be overlooked that the overall success is far from being satisfactory. Since in the course of their disease, radiotherapy is indicated for more than two thirds of cancer patients, improvement of treatment results become of great importance concerning health policy. As a rule a successful procedure can be realized only, if radiotherpy is integrated into the multidisciplinary overall concept of cancer treatment and the patients will receive optimal attention in diagnosis, therapy and after care in centralized oncological institutions. Based on the principle of individualized cancer therapy, possibilities are outlined to improve quality in carying out the different steps of the process of radiotherapy. Special importance is attached to measures of the modification of the radiation effect. In particular, scientific tackle of questions of dose fractionation, the use of neutron therapy as well as radiosensitizers, radioprotective substances and local hypothermia, resp., are considered starting points for further improvement of radiotherapeutic results. In addition to these problems, topical research tasks are outlined. (author)