Document Type : Original Article(s)
Authors
1
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiotherapy, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of Radiotherapy, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3
Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
4
Radiotherapist, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
5
Resident, Department of Radiotherapy, School of Medicine AND Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Background: Locally advanced tumors in the head and neck region are malignancies extended from their primary location with no distant metastasis. The main aim of this research was to assess whether the addition of chemotherapy to radiotherapy was able to increase the locoregional control of advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of head and neck in a cancer referral center. Methods: In this cohort study, 215 patients with locoregionally advanced head and neck carcinoma (stages III or IV) who had received conventional radiotherapy (60-70 Gy in 35 fractions) were evaluated. 92 patients had received chemoradiation and 123 patients had received radiotherapy alone. Demographic data was collected from the patients' records. The two groups were compared for local recurrence at each site. Findings: Rates of local recurrence in the radiotherapy and chemoradiation groups were not significantly different (P = 0.100). However, in paitients who did not undergo surgery, chemoradiation was superior to radiotherapy. Moreover, gender, site of tumor, and tumor grade were significantly related with disease recurrence (P = 0.019). Conclusion: Our findings showed that adding chemotherapy to conventional radiotherapy may be able to increase the locoregional control of SCC in patients who do not undergo surgery. These findings help improve currently practiced SCC therapeutic strategies. Keywords: Head and neck neoplasms, Local neoplasm recurrence, Radiotherapy, Adjuvant chemotherapy
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