Therapeutic advances in radiologic treatment of cancer.

In 1993, roughly 1,170,000 new cases of invasive cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. A considerable portion of these patients who die will do so because of uncontrolled local and/or regional disease. Numerous advances in the radiologic treatment of cancer have led to improved local and regional control, as well as survival. These advances include improved radiologic imaging techniques, improved techniques of radiation therapy, innovative brachytherapeutic techniques, intraoperative electron beam therapy techniques, and stereotaxic radiosurgical techniques. In this paper, the authors discuss these techniques with specific attention to how they have lead to improved local and regional control, as well as cancer cure with organ preservation.