Dysphagia Treatment for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Undergoing Radiation Therapy: A Meta-analysis Review
Abstract
PURPOSE
Patients undergoing radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy (C/RT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) often develop dysphagia. Interventions from speech-language pathologists aim to maintain or improve swallow physiology and function. However, it is unclear which interventions provide the greatest benefit. We performed a systematic review to assess the benefit of exercise therapy on swallow physiology, function, and related quality of life (QOL).
METHODS AND MATERIALS
We searched 7 electronic databases up to July 12, 2017, for all primary studies of any language or design that included the following: a behavioral swallowing intervention for patients with HNC treated with curative C/RT, a comparison group, and outcomes related to swallow physiology, function, and/or QOL. Two blinded raters judged the abstracts and full articles, with discrepancies resolved by a third rater. Critical appraisal was completed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias. Descriptive analyses were conducted for all outcomes and meta-analyses for outcomes that were identical in type and time relative to C/RT.
RESULTS
Of 1937 unique abstracts retrieved, 20 studies qualified. Of these, 12 were randomized controlled trials. Across the studies, dysphagia treatments varied by exercise type and start time (ie, before or during C/RT, n = 14; immediately after C/RT, n = 1; >3 months after C/RT, n = 5). After treatment, the outcomes measured varied by domain, tools, and follow-up schedule (ie, immediately…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 18 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Preliminary Toxicity Analysis of 3DCRT versus IMRT on the High Dose Arm of the RTOG 0126 Prostate Cancer Trial
- Adaptive Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: Initial Clinical Outcomes from a Prospective Trial
- American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 263: Standardizing Nomenclatures in Radiation Oncology
- Motion Management Strategies and Technical Issues Associated with Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy of Thoracic and Upper Abdominal Tumors: A Review from NRG Oncology
- High-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy as a monotherapy for localized prostate cancer: treatment description and preliminary results of a phase I/II clinical trial
- Highly efficient training, refinement, and validation of a knowledge-based plan quality control system for radiotherapy clinical trials
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.