Abstract
Background: We investigated the quality of life (QOL) impact of post-radiation therapy (RT) superselective/selective neck dissection after de-intensified chemoradiation for human papillomavirus-associated oropharynx cancer. Methods: A total of 147 patients received 60 Gy and weekly low-dose cisplatin on two phase 2 trials with planned post-RT neck dissection or surveillance positron emission tomography with neck dissection reserved for salvage. UW-QOL Shoulder Score, EORTC H&N-35, and EAT-10 were assessed. Results: In all, 48 of 147 patients had post-RT neck dissection. At 2 years, 37% and 13% of patients receiving post-RT neck dissection had Shoulder Score ≥ 1 (any shoulder symptoms) and ≥ 2 (symptoms affecting work/hobbies), respectively, versus only 16% and 3% of patients not receiving post-RT neck dissection. Post-RT neck dissection was associated with Shoulder Score ≥ 1 (P = 0.005) and Shoulder Score ≥ 2 (P = 0.03) at 2 years, but not H&N-35 or EAT-10 scores. Conclusions: Post-RT superselective/selective neck dissection was associated with modest but persistent shoulder symptoms. These toxicities should be weighed against the probability of persistent disease when evaluating patients for post-RT neck dissection.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1213-1219 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Head and Neck |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2019 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- neck dissection
- oropharynx
- quality of life
- radiation
- shoulder
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Otorhinolaryngology