Progress in Radiation Therapy

This initial volume in a projected series contains reviews on a variety of subjects designed to establish a foundation for future reports. Subjects are presented in the biological, physical, clinical, and educational fields that have direct application to clinical radiation therapy. At the beginning of this volume are two excellent chapters on the history of radiation therapy and of radiation sources for cancer therapy. The basic biological problems that are critically surveyed include the radiobiological effectiveness of radiation from different external sources, the relationship of the radiation dosage to time, and the modification of radiation effects by chemical means. The last half of the book is largely concerned with clinical problems; it covers ultrafractionation, radioresistant versus radiosensitive carcinomas of the cervix and their recognition by cytological means, renal embryoma, malignant intracranial neoplasms, central nervous system tolerance to radiation, carcinoma of the thyroid, and nonmalignant diseases of the eye. The last