Abstract
Aims and background. Our previous survey showed that the patterns of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) in Italy might be suboptimal. A prospective observational study was therefore designed to evaluate this issue in greater detail. Methods. All radiotherapy centers involved in the HNC Working Group of the Italian Radiation Oncology Association were asked to enter into the study all patients treated with PORT during a 6-month period. Results. A total of 200 patients were accrued by 24 centers from December 2008 to May 2009. Larynx (38%) and oral cavity (34%) were the most common primary sites. The median time between surgery and the start of radiotherapy was 69 days (range, 25-215 days). Seventy-nine percent of cases with no evidence of risk factors for local recurrence were treated with high-dose radiotherapy to the primary site. In about 75% of cases the pN0 neck was included in the target volume. Concomitant chemotherapy was delivered to about 60% of patients with major risk factors and 21% of patients with no risk factors. Conclusions. Three issues emerged from our study as potential targets for future investigations: the impact on clinical outcome of the interval between surgery and the start of PORT; factors driving radiation oncologists to overtreat volumes at low risk of recurrence; and problems associated with the delivery of concomitant chemotherapy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 170-176 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Tumori |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2011 |
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Keywords
- Head and neck cancer
- Observational study
- Postoperative radiotherapy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cancer Research
- Oncology
Cite this
Patterns of postoperative radiotherapy for head and neck cancer in Italy : A prospective, observational study by the head and neck group of the Italian Association for Radiation Oncology (AIRO). / Palazzi, Mauro; Alterio, Daniela; Tonoli, Sandro; Caspiani, Orietta; Bolner, Andrea; Colombo, Sara; Dall'Oglio, Stefano; Lastrucci, Luciana; Bunkheila, Feisal; Cianciulli, Michele; Taglianti, Riccardo Vigna; Cante, Domenico; Merlotti, Anna; Bianchi, Ernestina; Rampino, Monica; Podhradska, Andrea; Fontana, Antonella; Paiar, Fabiola; Micciché, Francesco; Manzo, Roberto; Ursino, Stefano; Bruschieri, Lorenza; Bacigalupo, Almalina; Iannone, Tiziana; Barca, Raffaella; Tomatis, Stefano.
In: Tumori, Vol. 97, No. 2, 03.2011, p. 170-176.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Patterns of postoperative radiotherapy for head and neck cancer in Italy
T2 - A prospective, observational study by the head and neck group of the Italian Association for Radiation Oncology (AIRO)
AU - Palazzi, Mauro
AU - Alterio, Daniela
AU - Tonoli, Sandro
AU - Caspiani, Orietta
AU - Bolner, Andrea
AU - Colombo, Sara
AU - Dall'Oglio, Stefano
AU - Lastrucci, Luciana
AU - Bunkheila, Feisal
AU - Cianciulli, Michele
AU - Taglianti, Riccardo Vigna
AU - Cante, Domenico
AU - Merlotti, Anna
AU - Bianchi, Ernestina
AU - Rampino, Monica
AU - Podhradska, Andrea
AU - Fontana, Antonella
AU - Paiar, Fabiola
AU - Micciché, Francesco
AU - Manzo, Roberto
AU - Ursino, Stefano
AU - Bruschieri, Lorenza
AU - Bacigalupo, Almalina
AU - Iannone, Tiziana
AU - Barca, Raffaella
AU - Tomatis, Stefano
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - Aims and background. Our previous survey showed that the patterns of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) in Italy might be suboptimal. A prospective observational study was therefore designed to evaluate this issue in greater detail. Methods. All radiotherapy centers involved in the HNC Working Group of the Italian Radiation Oncology Association were asked to enter into the study all patients treated with PORT during a 6-month period. Results. A total of 200 patients were accrued by 24 centers from December 2008 to May 2009. Larynx (38%) and oral cavity (34%) were the most common primary sites. The median time between surgery and the start of radiotherapy was 69 days (range, 25-215 days). Seventy-nine percent of cases with no evidence of risk factors for local recurrence were treated with high-dose radiotherapy to the primary site. In about 75% of cases the pN0 neck was included in the target volume. Concomitant chemotherapy was delivered to about 60% of patients with major risk factors and 21% of patients with no risk factors. Conclusions. Three issues emerged from our study as potential targets for future investigations: the impact on clinical outcome of the interval between surgery and the start of PORT; factors driving radiation oncologists to overtreat volumes at low risk of recurrence; and problems associated with the delivery of concomitant chemotherapy.
AB - Aims and background. Our previous survey showed that the patterns of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) in Italy might be suboptimal. A prospective observational study was therefore designed to evaluate this issue in greater detail. Methods. All radiotherapy centers involved in the HNC Working Group of the Italian Radiation Oncology Association were asked to enter into the study all patients treated with PORT during a 6-month period. Results. A total of 200 patients were accrued by 24 centers from December 2008 to May 2009. Larynx (38%) and oral cavity (34%) were the most common primary sites. The median time between surgery and the start of radiotherapy was 69 days (range, 25-215 days). Seventy-nine percent of cases with no evidence of risk factors for local recurrence were treated with high-dose radiotherapy to the primary site. In about 75% of cases the pN0 neck was included in the target volume. Concomitant chemotherapy was delivered to about 60% of patients with major risk factors and 21% of patients with no risk factors. Conclusions. Three issues emerged from our study as potential targets for future investigations: the impact on clinical outcome of the interval between surgery and the start of PORT; factors driving radiation oncologists to overtreat volumes at low risk of recurrence; and problems associated with the delivery of concomitant chemotherapy.
KW - Head and neck cancer
KW - Observational study
KW - Postoperative radiotherapy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79957644877&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79957644877&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 21617711
AN - SCOPUS:79957644877
VL - 97
SP - 170
EP - 176
JO - Tumori
JF - Tumori
SN - 0300-8916
IS - 2
ER -