Dr. Koyfman on Reirradiation Options for Head and Neck Cancer

Shlomo Koyfman, MD, associate staff, radiation oncology, Cleveland Clinic, discusses reirradiation options for patients with head and neck cancer.

Before a physician consents to administer reirradiation, every patient should be run through a recursive partitioning analysis algorithm to get an accurate sense of their expected outcome, explains Koyfman. By doing this, it will better inform both the patient and the physician of the risks and benefits of treatment.

There are now 2 ways to reirradiate patients, with intensity-modulated radiation therapy and stereotactic body radiotherapy, with data showing similar safety and efficacy for both.