Modern Radiotherapy in the Multidisciplinary Management of Common Cancers

Radiotherapy (RT) is an indispensable treatment for nearly all cancer types. Rapid evolution of technology has progressively increased the safely deliverable radiation dose, minimizing the exposure of uninvolved normal tissue and thus improving the efficacy, safety, and accessibility of radiation therapy. Meanwhile, multidisciplinary team management that aims to define personalized, optimal treatment strategies through shared decision-making between healthcare professionals and patients is a fundamental aspect of high-quality cancer diagnosis and treatment and often includes radiation oncology. How to combine this with other anti-tumor modalities, especially immunotherapy, in the era of modern RT has been increasingly emphasized. Here, in this review, we introduce the innovations in RT technology, and aim to provide an outline of the role of contemporary RT in the multidisciplinary treatment of most common cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric/esophageal-gastric junction cancer, and colorectal cancer, focusing on the main areas of innovation that are conducive to a change toward the personalized application of RT. We also discuss the future research directions for combination with modern RT.