Altered Fractionation Radiotherapy

Fractionation is a very important aspect of delivering radiation to the tumor to attain maximum tumor control and with minimal toxicity to the normal tissues. Conventional fractionation refers to delivering radiation at daily fractions of 1.8–2.0 Gy, delivered 5 days of a week for a total of 6–7 weeks. Hyper-fractionation, accelerated fractionation, and hypo-fractionation are the common altered fractionation schedules used clinically. The chapter describes the radiobiology, benefits, and clinical evidence for various altered fractionation schedules.