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The Radiobiology of Breast Radiotherapy

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Abstract

In order to fully understand the possible impact of different radiotherapy techniques on a cancer, it is essential to have knowledge of the underlying radiobiology of both the cancer and the radiotherapeutic method. Without this, toxicity or control could be compromised when changing fractionation or delivery. The radiobiology of conventional external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is relatively well understood, whereas the radiobiology of hypofractionated techniques is less clear. The challenge of integrating radiobiology into daily practice may perhaps become more straightforward as large randomized trials start to include radiobiology as a primary focus [1, 2].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Atif J. Khan MD

  2. Clinical Lead for Oncology, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Royal Surrey County Hospital,Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XX, UK

    Alexandra Stewart DM, MRCP, FRCR

  3. Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK

    Roger Dale PhD

Authors
  1. Atif J. Khan MD
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  2. Alexandra Stewart DM, MRCP, FRCR
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  3. Roger Dale PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Atif J. Khan MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ Sch. Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology, RICHMOND, Virginia, USA

    Douglas W Arthur

  2. Michigan Healthcare Professionals, 21st Century Oncology Michigan Healthcare Professionals, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA

    Frank A. Vicini

  3. Dept. Rad Oncol, Tufts Univ. School Med, Alpert Medical School Brown University Dept. Rad Oncol, Tufts Univ. School Med, BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA

    David E. Wazer

  4. Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Rutgers Can State Univ. New Jer Sch. Med Dept. of Radiation Oncology, NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey, USA

    Atif J. Khan

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Khan, A.J., Stewart, A., Dale, R. (2016). The Radiobiology of Breast Radiotherapy. In: Arthur, D., Vicini, F., Wazer, D., Khan, A. (eds) Short Course Breast Radiotherapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24388-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24388-7_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24386-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24388-7

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