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Hyperfractionation

  • Chapter
Innovations in Radiation Oncology

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Radiat Oncol))

Abstract

Clinical and experimental evidence suggests that, as an overall strategy, radiotherapy for most cancers should be given using the smallest practical dose per fraction and the shortest overall treatment duration. Any attempt to modify standard fractionation patterns to use smaller dose fractions and or a shorter overall time will require more than 5 fractions per week. However, the fact that both strategies result in 2 or more treatments on some or every treatment day should not obscure the different biological reasons for adopting them. Shortening the overall treatment time (accelerated fractionation) aims to minimize the effect of regeneration of tumor clonogens during treatment while the use of small dose fractions (hyperfractionation) is aimed at exploiting differences in the radio-biology of the tumor and late responding normal tissues. Hyperfractionation is the use of dose fractions smaller than standard. Accelerated fractionation is a shortening of the overall duration of a fractionated dose regimen. (Hyperfractionated accelerated treatment involves both a reduced dose per fraction and a shorter overall time.)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA

    H. Rodney Withers M.D., D.Sc.

  2. Centre Georges-Francois-Leclerc, Dijon, France

    Jean-Claude Horiot M.D.

Authors
  1. H. Rodney Withers M.D., D.Sc.
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  2. Jean-Claude Horiot M.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Experimental Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, 90024, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    H. Rodney Withers M.D., D.Sc. (Director, Professor) (Director, Professor)

  2. Division of Radiotherapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, 77030, Houston, TX, USA

    Lester J. Peters M.D. (Professor and Head) (Professor and Head)

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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Withers, H.R., Horiot, JC. (1988). Hyperfractionation. In: Withers, H.R., Peters, L.J. (eds) Innovations in Radiation Oncology. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83101-0_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83101-0_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-83103-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-83101-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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