Indications and outcomes of radiation therapy for skin cancer of the head and neck.

Radiation therapy is an important option for the treatment of skin cancer. Its advantages are preserving normal tissues, noninvasive outpatient treatment, and no need for anesthesia. Radiation therapy is used for deeper and extensive tumor and anatomic sites where it is difficult to obtain clear surgical margins. Radiation therapy is used as adjuvant treatment of patients who have positive surgical margins, perineural invasion, or regional node metastasis. It is useful for elderly patients who are unwilling or unable to undergo surgery. Radiation therapy is an effective treatment in eradicating gross and microscopic skin cancer, with a 5-year cure rate of 90% to 95%.