Patterns of blood pressure changes in patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy at a tertiary cancer centre.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To evaluate patterns of blood pressure (BP) changes in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving radiation (RT)/chemo-radiation (CRT) METHODS: This study included data collection, compilation, and analysis of 451 consecutive HNC patients who underwent RT/CRT. RESULTS: Out of 451 patients, 376 (82%) were male and 75 (18%) were female with a median age of 52 years. Patients receiving 3DCRT experienced greater fall in BP, including for SBP and MAP, compared to those receiving IMRT-IGRT. Female patients experienced greater fall in diastolic BP as compared to male patients (p 0.03). At the end of treatment, we observed a significant association between a fall in systolic BP (decrease by 10% of baseline) and weight loss of more than 10% of baseline weight (p 0.03). CONCLUSION: Fall in BP during RT/CRT is significantly affected by treatment technique and sex and is strongly associated with significant weight loss.