A shift from simple to sophisticated: using intensity-modulated radiation therapy in conventional nonstereotactic palliative radiotherapy.

Purpose of review: The authors aimed to highlight trends in, and evidence underlying the use of highly conformal radiotherapy (RT) techniques in conventional nonstereotactic palliative RT. The authors reviewed palliative-intent and curative-intent studies relevant to the use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for the delivery of nonstereotactic conventional regimens to the brain, head and neck, thorax, abdomen and pelvis, and bone metastases.

Recent findings: The use of IMRT has become standard with certain indications for brain metastases such as hippocampus-avoiding/limiting whole brain RT. IMRT in the treatment of bone metastases is increasing at many institutions despite limited data comparing its effectiveness with that of fluoroscopy-based and three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy techniques. There is scant data describing the use of IMRT for palliation in other extracranial anatomic sites; guidance for its use in these settings must be gleaned almost exclusively from curative-intent randomized trials, consensus recommendations and contouring atlases.

Summary: Consistent with historical technology shifts in RT practice, the uptake of highly conformal techniques such as IMRT for conventional palliative RT will likely outpace rigorous evaluations of their advantages and disadvantages relative to simpler techniques. Opportunities exist in virtually all anatomic sites for observational and randomized studies to evaluate the clinical impacts of these modern techniques in the palliative setting.