Bilateral vs ipsilateral adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with cancer of unknown primary of the head and neck: An analysis of the clinical outcome and radiation-induced side effects

Nguyen-Son Le, Stefan Janik, Helmut Simmel, Boban M Erovic

Research output: Journal article (peer-reviewed)Journal article

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare ipsilateral and bilateral adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) of the head and neck.

METHODS: Overall survival, recurrence-free survival, and radiation-induced side effects were assessed in 76 patients with CUP who underwent ipsilateral (n = 29) or bilateral (n = 47) radiotherapy.

RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 41 months, the 5-year overall survival and recurrence-free rate were 67.9% and 71.5%, respectively. No statistically significant difference between ipsilateral and bilateral radiotherapy could be found regarding 5-year overall survival, recurrence-free survival, occurrence of a primary tumor, and distant metastasis. The analysis of radiation-induced acute side effects showed a significant benefit of ipsilateral radiotherapy.

CONCLUSION: As the main parameters of the study regarding the outcome and radiation-induced side effects showed no advantages of bilateral radiotherapy, the strategy of ipsilateral radiotherapy can be recommended for the adjuvant treatment of CUP patients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1785-1794
Number of pages10
JournalHead and Neck
Volume41
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Carcinoma/mortality
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms/mortality
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms, Unknown Primary/mortality
  • Radiotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Survival Rate
  • Treatment Outcome

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