Re-Irradiation Therapy for Locally Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer: A National Survey of Practice Patterns

ABSTRACT

Using a customized survey consisting of two de-identified clinical scenarios with a total of 86 questions, we showed that substantial variability exists regarding recommendations for therapy of recurrent head and neck cancer. For inoperable gross recurrence arising in a previously irradiated field, recommendations were re-irradiation with curative intent (73%), re-irradiation with palliative intent (4%), chemotherapy alone (5%), and referral to tertiary center (18%). After salvage surgery, only 33% recommended adjuvant re-irradiation, with the remainder preferring observation (46%), chemotherapy alone (10%), and referral to tertiary center (11%). Significant differences were observed with respect to dose, fractionation, technique, and systemic therapy recommendations.

KEYWORDS:

• Salvage therapy
• recurrent
• head and neck cancer
• practice patterns
• re-irradiation

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.