热疗在晚期头颈部肿瘤放疗中的作用

临床放射治疗的主要难题之一是低ＬＥＴ射线对细胞的杀死作用要依赖于氧的存在。热疗可以起放射增敏作用。我们1995年12月～1998年12月采用热疗加放射治疗60例头颈部肿瘤,现报告如下。1　临床资料1.1　一般资料本组资料采用随机分组。①治疗组:60例,均经病理学诊断,按ＵＩＣＣＴＮＭ分期均是Ｎ2～Ｎ3,其中男性45例,女性15例,年龄在18～68岁,平均43岁。病理分类:低分化鳞癌39例(鼻咽癌18例,上颌窦癌13例,喉癌7例,鼻腔癌1例);未分化癌3例(喉癌);腺癌3例(上颌窦癌)。②对照组:51例,均经病理学诊断,均是Ｎ2～Ｎ3,其中男性38例,女性13例,年龄17～…     

自适应放疗在头颈部肿瘤治疗中的应用

头颈部肿瘤在放疗过程中每次治疗时的靶区位置和形状都会存在差异,为了避免造成靶区漏照或正常组织受到过多照射,精确放疗的准确性显得尤为重要。自适应放疗(adaptive radiation therapy,ART)是在三维适形放疗(3D-CRT)和调强放射治疗(IMRT)基础上出现的新型放疗技术,它是图像引导放射治疗(IGRT)的进一步提高和发展。治疗实施通过患者图像、剂量等反馈信息对原治疗计划重新优化和调整,这是一种基于反馈控制理论的治疗策略。其目的是使放射治疗更加精确化、个体化。     

自适应放疗在头颈部肿瘤治疗中的应用

头颈部肿瘤在放疗过程中每次治疗时的靶区位置和形状都会存在差异,为了避免造成靶区漏照或正常组织受到过多照射,精确放疗的准确性显得尤为重要。自适应放疗（adaptive radiation therapy,ART）是在三维适形放疗（3D-CRT）和调强放射治疗（IMRT）基础上出现的新型放疗技术,它是图像引导放射治疗（IGRT）的进一步提高和发展。治疗实施通过患者图像、剂量等反馈信息对原治疗计划重新优化和调整,这是一种基于反馈控制理论的治疗策略。其目的是使放射治疗更加精确化、个体化。     

头颈部肿瘤颈部放疗对甲状腺功能影响的研究进展

头颈部肿瘤颈部放疗后,会引起甲状腺功能减退（hypothyroidism,HT）,5年发生率于20%～60%之间。本文综述了放疗剂量-体积参数、年龄、放射技术、性别等因素与放射治疗引起的甲状腺功能减退（radiation-induced hypothyroidism,RIHT）的关系,以及产生的机制。甲状腺的剂量-体积阈值相关研究很多,但结论不一,不能明确定义。但共识是较高的甲状腺剂量和较小的甲状腺体积会增加RIHT的发生率,年龄、放射技术、性别会对RIHT的发生有影响。需大量前瞻性大样本进一步研究来开发更多的正常组织并发症概率 （normal tissue complication probability,NTCP）模型及探讨下丘脑-垂体轴和RIHT之间的关系。     

头颈部肿瘤放疗损伤的处理

头颈部肿瘤约占全身肿瘤发病率的30％。由于头颈部有许多具有重要功能的器官,且各器官之间相互交错．手术难以完全切除。幸运的是大多数头颈部肿瘤对放射线较为敏感,因此放射治疗占有极其重要的地位。但放射治疗亦可造成正常组织的损伤．影响患者的生活质量(QOL)。     

功能保全性肿瘤外科手术

功能保全性肿瘤外科手术屠规益一个多世纪以来，恶性肿瘤外科经历了实践检验，随着科技发展，在战略上有了变化，从大面积切除、即患病器官广泛全切除术的原则到根据肿瘤范围“量体裁衣”，进行器官功能保全性手术。恶性肿瘤外科根治性手术原则的确立刚好度过１００年的历...     

头颈部肿瘤放疗对甲状腺功能的损伤

头颈部肿瘤放疗后会引起不同程度的甲状腺功能减退.引起甲状腺功能减退的机制包括射线对甲状腺及垂体细胞的直接损伤、对相关血管的损伤以及自身免疫反应等.影响头颈部肿瘤放疗后甲状腺功能的因素主要有:放疗剂量、放疗技术、是否联合手术化疗等.通过对这些影响因素的研究可为防治甲状腺功能减退提供依据,从而提高患者生活质量.     

头颈部肿瘤放疗后口腔干燥症的预防和治疗

头颈部肿瘤是常见的恶性肿瘤之一,放射治疗能保留患者的容貌和功能,又能取得良好的疗效,故在头颈部肿瘤的治疗中起了极大的作用。特别是鼻咽癌方面,放疗是迄今为止最有效的治疗,早期鼻咽癌放疗后5年存活率可达80％左右,提高疗效同时提高生活质量已成为当今头颈部肿瘤放疗后所关注的问题。永久性口腔干燥是头颈部肿瘤放疗中和放疗后常见的并发症,常常严重影响患者的生活质量（影响食欲,吞咽困难甚至说话功能）。本文对预防口腔干燥作一综述。     

Concomitant weekly cisplatin and altered fractionation radiotherapy in locally advanced head and neck cancer

BACKGROUND:

Both concomitant chemotherapy and altered fractionation radiotherapy (RT) have been shown to improve outcomes for patients with locoregionally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. However, both strategies also increase acute toxicity, and it is questionable whether the 2 can be safely combined. Traditional concomitant chemotherapy regimens include high‐dose cisplatin given at 100 mg/m² every 3 weeks. The authors' purpose was to report efficacy and toxicity after weekly cisplatin (30 mg/m²/wk) concurrent with altered fractionation RT.

METHODS:

One hundred twenty‐one patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer stages II (3%), III (13%), or IV (84%) squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx (70%), hypopharynx (20%), or larynx (10%) were treated between 2000 and 2006 at the University of Florida with hyperfractionated RT (55 patients) or concomitant boost RT (66 patients) and concomitant cisplatin (30 mg/m²/wk).

RESULTS:

Median follow‐up was 2.9 years; median follow‐up on survivors was 3.6 years. Seventy‐nine percent of patients completed ≥6 cycles of chemotherapy; 94% received ≥7200 centigrays. Seven (6%) patients changed from cisplatin to carboplatin because of bone marrow toxicity. Gastrostomy tube feeding was required in 54% of patients either before (16%) or during RT (38%). Two (1.6%) patients died from therapy‐related complications. The 5‐year outcomes were: local control, 83%; locoregional control, 79%; distant metastasis‐free survival, 88%; cause‐specific survival, 76%; and overall survival, 59%. Seven (6%) patients had severe late complications. Three (3%) patients required a permanent gastrostomy tube.

CONCLUSIONS:

Concomitant weekly cisplatin with altered fractionation RT is a safe and effective treatment regimen. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.     

Phase II trial of gemcitabine concurrent with radiation for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

BACKGROUND: Concurrent chemoradiation is the current standard of treatment for patients with advanced unresectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Due to the potent radiosensitizing properties of gemcitabine, we decided to assess its efficacy and toxicity with concurrent radiation in patients with advanced HNSCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1997 to December 2001, 27 patients with locally advanced HNSCC (stage III, 37%; stage IV, 63%) were enrolled. All received a course of radiotherapy (70 Gy over 7 weeks) concurrent with weekly infusions of gemcitabine at 100 mg/m2 or 50 mg/m2. RESULTS: All patients were assessable for toxicity and 26 for response. Severe mucositis (grade 3-4) was observed in 74% of patients (grade 4, 41%). Severe hematological toxicity was uncommon. Mild and moderate xerostomy was the most common late toxicity in 23 patients (85%). The median radiation dose delivered was 70 Gy (40-80 Gy), 25 patients (93%) received > or = 80% of the intended dose. Gemcitabine dose intensity was > or = 80% in only 13 (48%) patients. The rate of complete and partial responses were 61% and 27%, respectively, for an overall response rate of 88%. At a median follow-up of 13 months (range 6-62), the actuarial 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 37% and 33%, respectively. The only variable associated with prolonged survival (P = 0.0001) was the degree of response. No difference was observed in response or toxicity with either gemcitabine 50 or 100 mg/m2. CONCLUSIONS: The concurrent use of radiotherapy and gemcitabine is effective but produces manageable severe mucositis in a high percentage of patients.     

Hyperfractionated radiotherapy in advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

From January, 1976 to January, 1980, 141 patients (135 males and 6 females) with Stage III and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck received a split course of hyperfractionated radiotherapy (HFR). In the first group, involving 91 patients, the therapeutic schedule was as follows: first and fourth week, 7.2 Gy per day in 8 sessions of .9 Gy from Monday to Friday, the second and third week no irradiation was given. Thus, patients were given 72 Gy total dose, fractionated into 80 sessions. Mucosal necrosis and severe hemorrhage were responsible for the death of 26 patiens (28%). Therefore the therapeutic protocol was altered for the 50 patients of the second group: during the first and sixth week 6.6 Gy per day in 6 sessions of 1.1 Gy from Monday to Friday. The total dose was thus reduced to 66 Gy fractionated into 60 sessions, resulting in the decrease of toxicity. Regardless of the therapeutic protocol and site of primary, 114 patients (80%) achieved a complete remission and 8 showed a partial remission (>50%), whereas no change was seen for the 19 remainders. Local recurrence appeared in 60 patients (48%). Acute mucositis and laryngeal edema regularly occurred a week after every course of HFR and were considered severe in 40 patients. In spite of toxicity, the median survival is 14 months and 22 patients are still alive in November 1981: 19 without disease, and 8 of these patients have a survival time of at least 3 years.     

An update on radiation therapy in head and neck cancers

Introduction: Technological and technical improvements allowed for significant advances in the field of radiation therapy (RT) of head and neck cancer (HNC). Several organ-sparing strategies have been investigated with the objective to decrease acute and long-term adverse effects and, subsequently, to assure a better quality of life in patients affected by HNC. In this context, intensity modulated irradiation and the use of multimodality-imaging could help clinicians to obtain a rapid dose fall off towards surrounding healthy tissues and a better delineation of targets volumes and organs at risk.

Areas covered: A literature review was performed with the aim to offer an update on radiation therapy in HNC.

Expert commentary: During these last years, radiation oncologists have observed a continuous changing regarding radiation treatment for HNC. The adoption of intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) and the use of multimodality-imaging for tumor volume definition and organs at risk or delineation have improved the clinical outcomes of HNC patients. In the future, a better integration of functional imaging for target volume delineation as well as adaptive delivery strategies will allow to further personalize radiation oncology in HNC. Furthermore, the latest breakthrough technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-linacs and heavy particles technologies have a great potential to improve treatment-related quality of life in HNC. Future studies are needed to demonstrate the clinical advantages of these new RT technologies in HNC.     

局部晚期头颈部鳞癌的靶向治疗进展

多学科联合治疗是局部晚期头颈部鳞癌的最佳治疗模式,而分子靶向药物也在近年应用到这一领域。由于头颈部鳞癌具有普遍的表皮生长因子受体(epithelial growth factor receptor,EGFR)的高表达,目前的靶向治疗主要针对这一靶点。西妥昔单抗作为一个人鼠嵌合的单克隆抗体,是目前唯一批准用于头颈部鳞癌的分子靶向药物。与单纯放疗相比,放疗联合西妥昔单抗能够显著改善局部晚期头颈部鳞癌患者的无进展生存和总生存,但与传统同期放化疗的比较无论在疗效还是不良反应方面尚不充分。随着诱导化疗在局部晚期头颈部鳞癌的研究进展,放疗联合西妥昔单抗为后续的治疗模式提供了新的研究思路。虽然RTOG 0522研究初步证明了在同期放化疗基础上再联合西妥昔单抗无法进一步提高疗效,但对于西妥昔单抗的化疗药物配伍的问题仍然值得探讨。而对于其他抗EGFR抑制剂而言,如何在现有证据基础上设计有针对性的临床研究是能否取得治疗更新的关键。     

Benzydamine for prophylaxis of radiation-induced oral mucositis in head and neck cancers: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial

We evaluated the efficacy of benzydamine oral rinse for prevention of radiation-induced mucositis. Patients with head and neck cancers, who were referred in 2004–2005, received an oral rinse of either benzydamine or placebo. One hundred patients were randomized in this trial. At the end of the study, 19 patients were excluded from the analysis because they did not use the medication for the assigned period. In the benzydamine group, the frequency of mucositis grade ≥3 was 43.6% in contrast to 78.6% in other group ( P  = 0.001). Grade ≥3 mucositis was 2.6 times more frequent in the placebo group. Intensity of mucositis increased up to fourth week of treatment in both groups to grade 2. In the treated group the grade of mucositis was approximately constant to the end of therapy; but in the control group it raised to grade 3 ( P  < 0.001). The highest grade of mucositis during the treatment time was significantly different between two groups ( P  = 0.049). The median interval to observation of grade ≥2 mucositis was 24 days in the placebo group and 28 days in the benzydamine group ( P  = 0.12). Benzydamine oral rinse seems to be effective, safe, and well tolerated for prophylactic treatment of radiation-induced oral mucositis in head and neck tumours.     

Fast neutron therapy for locally advanced head and neck tumors

Between October 1972 and April 1979, 187 patients with locally advanced head and neck tumors were treated with 50 MeV_d→Be neutrons or with conventional treatment in the M. D. Anderson Hospital-Texas A & M University variable energy cyclotron (MDAH-TAMVEC) program. Of these, 114 patients were treated in pilot studies and 73 in a randomized clinical trial. In the pilot studies, 49 patients were treated with neutrons alone, 25 with mixed-beam irradiation (two neutron and three photon fractions per week), and 40 with conventional treatment (surgery, photons, or combined surgery and photons). There was no appreciable difference among patients in these studies with regard to local tenor control or servival. However, the patients in the conventional-treatment pilot study had less advanced disease than those in either of the other studies. The complication rates in the neutrons-only and conventional-treatment studies were significantly greater than the complication rate observed in the mixed-beam pilot study. In the randomized clinical trial, 41 patients were treated with mixed-beam irradiation and 32 with photon irradiation. The preliminary results of this trial show a slight superiority with mixed-beam irradiation. In the mixed-beam group, 61% had local tumor control, 7% developed major complications, and 4996 were alive at the time of analysis; whereas in the photon group, 47% had local tumor control, 3% developed major complications, and 25% were alive at the time of analysis.     

Palliative radiotherapy for locally advanced non-metastatic head and neck cancer: A systematic review

Objectives: The objective of this systematic review was to identify and appraise the existing evidence of role of palliative radiotherapy for locally advanced non-metastatic head and neck cancer. Methods: A systematic search of the literature was conducted using Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases and relevant references were included. Results: Literature search revealed a wide variation in dose fractionation regimens. Reported outcomes showed high efficacy and low rate of significant side effects, except in studies utilising higher doses of radiotherapy where higher grade toxicities were seen. Reported median overall survival was in the range of 3.3–17?months, but most studies reported median survival of around 6?months. Conclusions: The choice of palliative radiotherapy varies significantly. This is in contrast to regimens of curative radiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer, which are well standardised. Given the reported relatively short overall survival of this patient group, an ideal treatment should be of the shortest possible duration whilst ensuring effective palliation and minimal side effects. Future well designed trials are needed to evaluate quality of life and duration of side effects in addition to survival and severity of toxicities in this group of patients.     

Mitomycin and fluorouracil in combination with concomitant radiotherapy: a potentially curable approach for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of radiotherapy and concurrent mitomycin-C (MC) plus 5-fluorouracil (5FU) infusion in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). METHODS: Sixty-nine patients with SCCHN (6 Stage III and 63 Stage IV patients) were treated with external beam radiotherapy (70 Gy) and simultaneous intravenous chemotherapy with 5FU (600 mg/m(2)/day, Days 1-5) and MC (10 mg/m(2), Days 5 and 36). RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 28.5 months, 59.4% of patients were alive without disease. Complete response was seen in 76.8% of patients. The 3 years overall survival, locoregional relapse-free survival and disease-free survival was 62.3, 63.1[corrected] and 49.5%, respectively. Treatment was well tolerated (Grade III mucositis in 43.5% and Grade II leukopenia in 5.8%). CONCLUSIONS: This concurrent chemoradiotherapy regimen offers a curative option for our patients where primary and nodal disease is fairly large resulting in hypoxic radioresistant tumors.     

Late oral complications following radiotherapy for head and neck cancers

Radiotherapy is an important treatment modality for head and neck cancers, both as definitive treatment and as adjunct treatment after surgery. Complications are common after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer owing to irradiation of many normal tissues and structures with important functions related to daily activities. Of these, late oral complications are of particular concern because of their effect on many basic functions, such as speech and swallowing. Although late complications following radiotherapy have been recognized for many years, recent developments in the treatment of head and neck cancers may have a significant impact on the incidence and severity of late complications. This article examines the current issue of late oral complications after radiotherapy, with an emphasis on the impact of recent advances in cancer treatment.