Conformal radiotherapy: A review.

Conformal radiotherapy is a new irradiation technique made possible by tech nological improvements, especially progress in imaging and 3D dosimetry. By conforming the volume irradiated as closely as possible to the clinical an atomical target volume, conformal radiotherapy is designed to deliver a hig her dose to the tumour volume, while more effectively sparing the adjacent tissues from the adverse effects of irradiation. Conformal radiotherapy may therefore constitute a progress comparable to the contribution of high-ene rgy radiotherapy in the 1960s or the impact of computer-assisted dosimetry in the 1970s. Evaluation of the results, definition of its indications, sta ndardisation of practices, and study of the impact of dose escalation requi re further studies in the field of prostate cancel; as the superiority of t his new technique over conventional radiotherapy has not been formally esta blished due to the limited follow-up.