The use of radiotherapy in the treatment of oral cancer / O uso da radioterapia no tratamento do câncer oral

Most of the development of neoplasms has epithelial origin, and the most frequent for oral cancer is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), of which one should be aware of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that may be relevant in the development of precancerous lesions. The diagnosis of this type of cancer is made with clinical, histopathological and imaging exams. Thus, this ressearch was carried out with the objetive to address the treatment of oral cancer through radiotherapy, identifying different techniques for the use of radiation and establishing measures that help in the control of radiation beams in the face of the exposed pathology. This study had as source articles published in the electronic databases LILACS and PubMed, between 1996 and 2020 through the descriptors: “radiotherapy", "oral cancer”. Radiotherapy for oral cancer can be performed in an adjuvant or neoadjuvant way, providing radiation by teletherapy through techniques known as Conventional Radiotherapy, Conformational Radiotherapy, and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy. Although radiotherapy is capable to eliminate tumor cells, abnormalities induced by radiation may appear inside the oral cavity, and these abnormalities can be minimized by controlling radiation doses distribution in addition to significant protection of adjacent healthy tissues through the use of intraoral devices, contributing to the improvement of the patient's quality of life.