Approaches combining chemotherapy and radiation therapy in locally advanced head and neck cancers: Retrospective record based study

Abstract

Background: Head and neck cancer is a locoregional disease. Radiotherapy and surgery are the treatment options, where radiotherapy is the preferred treatment. Several approaches for combining chemotherapy and radiation have been used to improve treatment outcomes. Nonetheless, the chemotherapy schedule consisting of induction chemotherapy (ICT)followed by concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT), CCRT alone, or CCRT + adjuvant chemotherapy (AC)) remains to be defined. Aim: Our goal is to compare the efficacy and toxicity of induction chemotherapy (ICT) followed by CCRT to standard CCRT alone in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck (LASCCHNC).Material & Methods: This is a retrospective record-based study that enrolled all patients attending to Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Department, Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt, with a proven pathological diagnosis of head and neck cancer. The study included a total of 168 patients, including 84 in each group. Group A received CCRTHalone, while Group B received IC followed by CCRTH between January 2014 and December 2018, with a follow-up period ending in January 2024. Results: According to Kaplan Meier analysis with the Log-rank test, no statistically significant impact on progression-free survival (PFS) among both groups. Overall survival (OS) analysis showed that patients in Group B who received ICT followed by CCRTH had a higher OS than patients in Group A who received CCRTH only. Conclusions: Induction chemotherapy followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy is a suitable option with improved outcomes for patients with LAHNSCC.