Intraoperative high‐dose‐rate radiotherapy in the management of locoregionally recurrent head and neck cancer1. Issue 4 (5th March 2013) - Scala, L. Matthew
Abstract Background The purpose of this article was to present the Beth Israel Medical Center experience using high‐dose‐rate intraoperative radiotherapy (HDR‐IORT) in the management of recurrent head and neck cancer. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of all patients with locally or regionally recurrent head and neck cancer who underwent HDR‐IORT at our institution between 2001 and 2010. Results Seventy‐six patients were identified who underwent treatment to a total of 87 sites after gross‐total resection. The 2‐year estimate of in‐field tumor control was found to be 62%. Median overall survival was 19 months with 42% of the patients surviving at least 2 years. Significantly longer survival was found for patients achieving in‐field control versus infield progression (33 months vs 17 months, respectively; p = .01). Conclusion HDR‐IORT is well tolerated and associated with encouraging in‐field disease control. In‐field control is associated with improved survival. Further study is warranted to more fully investigate HDR‐IORT in the salvage setting. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2013