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For Release: October 23, 2000
Accelerated Treatment Improves Local Control of Squamous Cell Head and Neck Cancer
Twice-a-day radiation therapy given over a shorter period is better than conventional treatment in destroying a primary head and neck tumor and any disease that has spread nearby, a new study shows.
The study of 268 patients treated in 12 European centers found that the local control rate at two years was 58 percent for patients treated twice-a-day for three weeks (accelerated treatment). This compares to 34 percent for patients who received the standard once-a-day radiation therapy for seven weeks, says Jean Bourhis, M.D., Ph.D., of the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France. The patients in the study had locally advanced inoperable head and neck squamous cell cancer.
In addition to the improved local control rates, "we've seen a slight increase" in overall survival, says Dr. Bourhis. "We are doing a final analysis to determine if this increase in survival is statistically significant," he adds.
While there was an increase in tumor control, there was also an increase in toxicity when the patient was undergoing treatment and for one to two months following treatment. Ninety percent of patients who received accelerated treatment needed a feeding tube, says Dr. Bourhis. That compares to 41 percent of the patients who received standard treatment.
Usually, only about 15 percent of patients treated once-a-day for seven weeks have extreme difficulty in swallowing, notes Dr. Bourhis. The numbers in this study are high, in part, because the patients in the study had larger tumors, which even before treatment, made swallowing difficult, says Dr. Bourhis. No difference was seen in late toxicities, says Dr. Bourhis.
The results of this study are being used as a basis for other studies in Europe, he says.
Dr. Bourhis presented the study on October 23 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meeting in Boston, MA.
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