Radiation therapy

In radiotherapy, a distinction is made between primary and postoperative methods. The choice of technique to be applied in a particular case ultimately depends on the type of tumor and the stage of the disease.

If only radiation is used to treat cancer, it is referred to as primary radiation therapy, which makes sense in the early stages of the disease. In this case, the lymph flow paths in the neck area are covered by irradiation, depending on the degree of risk of metastasis, without the use of excision of the neck tissue.

Since the target area is favorable for irradiation, various irradiation techniques are taken into account for the treatment of tongue cancer. A combination of these techniques is also possible.

Postoperative irradiation It is used in patients who suffer from widespread tumors, with the presence of metastases in the lymph nodes or with incompletely removed tumors. Therapy should be carried out in conclusion after the operation.

Irradiation prior to surgery (preoperative) is rarely performed and is used if the patient has a tumor so large that it is too large for surgery or has already sprouted into neighboring tissue and cannot be completely removed. Cancer cells respond very well to this irradiation, however, the prevalence of the tumor during subsequent surgery is underestimated in most cases.

Both irradiation techniques (both pre- and postoperative irradiation) are performed using lower doses than the initial irradiation. To further improve radiotherapy treatment, new therapeutic options are already being explored.