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Late toxicities among laryngopharyngeal cancers patients treated with different schedules of concurrent chemoradiation at a rural tertiary cancer care center
*Corresponding author: Dr. N.V. Vinin. vininnair@gmail.com
This article was originally published by Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. and was migrated to Scientific Scholar after the change of Publisher.
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Concurrent chemoradiation is the treatment of choice for laryngeal-pharyngeal cancers. Apart from survival organ preservation remains major aims of the treatment. Advanced radiation techniques like VMAT have shown to reduce morbidity. The purpose of our study is to assess the late toxicities in patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation and its association with dose to organs at risk. Aims: Assessment of late toxicities following concurrent chemoradiation in patients with laryngopharyngeal cancers. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study at a tertiary cancer centre on patients with laryngeal and pharyngeal cancers treated with concurrent chemoradiation with VMAT upto a total dose of 69.3 -70 Gy in 33-35 fractions and concurrent chemotherapy with Cisplatin was done. Severe late toxicities and its association with demographic and clinical parameters and dose to OAR were studied. Data was analysed using EpiData analysis v2.2.2.182. Results: Of the 93 patients studied majority were males above 55 years. Oropharynx was the commonest site (58%) with T3 and N2 in majority. Late dysphagia and odynophagia was seen in 18(21%) and 23(27%) patients respectively. 16 (17%) had tube dependence and nine (9.6%) had aspiration pneumonia. D60, V50 and V60 along with site , node positivity and weight loss were found to be significantly associated with severe late toxicity. Conclusion: Oropharyngeal cancers, node positivity and weight loss were found to have significant grade III and above toxicities including tube dependency. Dose to larynx showed association with severe late toxicities, though dose to constrictors could not.
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Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledges the support provided Dr. Karthickeyan Duraisamy, Academy for Public Health, Calicut, Kerala, India and Dr. Jaya Prasad Tripathy The Union South East Asia Office, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, New Delhi, India. This research was supported through an operational research course, that was jointly developed and run by Academy for Public Health, Kozhikode, Kerala, India; Malabar Cancer Centre (MCC), Thalassery, Kerala, India. The authors thank the staff of Malabar Cancer Centre in the process of data collection for their unreserved assistance. The authors also thank the patients with cancer registered in MCC whose participation in the study made this research possible. This course is under the umbrella of the World Health Organization (WHO-TDR) SORT-IT (structured operational research and training initiative) programme for capacity building in low- and middle-income countries.
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