Adaptive Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: Initial Clinical Outcomes from a Prospective Trial
Abstract
Purpose To present pilot toxicity and survival outcomes for a prospective trial investigating adaptive radiotherapy (ART) for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods Twenty-four patients enrolled onto an IRB-approved clinical trial. Twenty-two patients were analyzed. Daily CT-guided setup and deformable image registration permitted serial mapping of CTVs and avoidance structures for ART planning. Primary site was base of tongue in 15 patients, tonsil in 6, and glossopharyngeal sulcus in 1. Twenty (91%) patients had AJCC stage IV disease. T stage distribution was 2 T1, 12 T2, 3 T3, 5 T4 and N stage distribution was 1 N0, 2 N1, 5 N2a, 12 N2b, and 2 N2c. Twenty-one (95%) patients received systemic therapy. Results With 31 month median follow up (range: 13-45), there has been no primary site failure and 1 nodal relapse, yielding 100% local and 95% regional disease control at 2 years. Baseline tumor size correlated with absolute volumetric treatment response (p = 0.018). Parotid volumetric change correlated with duration of feeding tube placement (p = 0.025). Acute toxicity was comparable to conventional IMRT results. Chronic toxicity and functional outcomes beyond 1 year were tabulated. Discussion This is the first prospective evaluation of morbidity and survival outcomes in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer treated with automated adaptive replanning. ART can provide dosimetric benefit with only 1 or 2 mid-treatment replanning events. Our preliminary…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a clinical trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 15 participants or records.
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