Prospective Study to Compare Efficacy of Conventional Chemoradiotherapy with Hypofractionated Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Carcinoma of Oropharynx.

AIMS: Chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for advanced Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Upcoming hypofractionation has led to better compliance and non-inferior results in various sites such as breast and prostate cancer etc.  This study prospectively compared a dose-intensified schedule in advanced OPSCC with standard hypofractionation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced stage III and IV OPSCC suitable for radical chemoradiotherapy were eligible. Patients were alternatively allocated to both the treatment arms. Arm A planned to receive 64 Gy in 25 fractions (#) with concurrent cisplatin and Arm B received standard fractionation 70 Gy in 35 # with concurrent cisplatin. All patients completed a median follow up of 6 to 18 months.  The primary end point was acute toxicity (less than 3 months) and late toxicity at 1 year. Secondary end point was disease free survival and overall survival at 1 year. RESULTS: 44 patients in arm A and 49  patients in arm B were recruited over 18 months. 34 patients completed full-dose radiotherapy in both arms. Maximum acute toxicity in arm A in terms of skin reaction was Grade II in 47.05% cases and mucositis grade II in 67.6% cases. In arm B grade II skin toxicity was seen in 47.1% and mucositis grade II was seen in 79.4 % cases. Ryle's tube dependency was seen in 38.2 % cases in arm A and 50% in arm B.  Complete response rate at 3 months was equivalent in both arms in Arm A (100%), and in Arm B (96.7%). Disease free survival (DFS), Overall survival (OS) at 3 month, 6 months, and 12 months was comparable. CONCLUSIONS: 64 Gy in 25 fractions with concomitant chemotherapy is tolerable in patients with equivalent results and better compliance. Shorter fractionation schedule is more acceptable and we look forward for more randomized control trials.

Re-irradiation for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Local recurrences after curative treatment have a potential for cure with salvage surgery or with re-irradiation. METHODS: We reviewed the PubMed for articles published in English with key words squamous cell carcinoma, recurrent, re-irradiation, prognostic factors to find relevant articles describing prognostic factors, re-irradiation, and outcome for recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. RESULTS: Various factors including age, performance status, time for recurrence, previous radiation dose volume and site of recurrence, previous use of chemotherapy are all prognostic factors in recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Surgery is feasible in very select subgroup of patients and must be done when feasible. Re-irradiation with the aid of modern sophisticated technology is safe and confers durable and clinically meaningful survival benefit. Re-irradiation in head and neck recurrent squamous cell carcinoma may provide an expected median survival of 10-12months. Chemotherapy may be added along with radiation in the recurrent setting. CONCLUSION: Treatment approaches may have to be personalized. Re surgery must be done in all patients in whom it is feasible. In patients in whom surgery is not feasible, re-irradiation must be evaluated as a therapeutic option especially in patients with limited volume recurrence.

Treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of external auditory canal: A tertiary cancer centre experience.

OBJECTIVE: Carcinoma of external auditory canal (EAC) is a rare disease with variable management strategies and prognosis. We aimed to analyze treatment modalities, prognostic factors and survival outcomes in patients of squamous cell carcinoma of EAC treated at our institution. METHODS: Forty-three patients of squamous cell carcinoma of EAC were analyzed for clinical presentation, stage, surgical procedures and radiotherapy (RT) modalities employed. Stell and McCormick staging system was used for staging of the patients. Progression free survival (PFS) was estimated by the use of Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Log rank test was used to assess the impact of prognostic variables on PFS. Multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox hazard regression model. p value of <0.05 was considered significant for all statistical analysis. RESULTS: Median age was 56 years (range: 12-84 years). Male to female ratio was 31:12. Stage was T1, T2 and T3 in 2, 17 and 18 patients respectively. Sixteen patients underwent surgery. Thirty-six patients received RT (14 received definitive RT, 11 had post-operative RT and 11 had RT with palliative intent). Eight patients (16%) received chemotherapy (5 received concurrent with RT, 2 had adjuvant and 1 had neo-adjuvant chemotherapy). Nine patients (of 11 patients) achieved a complete response (CR) and 2 achieved a partial response (PR) after surgery plus post-operative RT. Nine patients and 5 patients respectively achieved CR and PR after definitive RT (with or without concurrent chemotherapy). Of the 11 patients who received palliative RT, 2 had very good objective response (>50%) and 7 patients had PR to palliative RT. After a median follow-up of 16 months, median PFS for the entire cohort was 14 months. Two-year PFS rates were 85.7%, 46.9% and 0% for patients treated with surgery and post-operative RT, definitive RT and palliative RT respectively. On univariate analysis, higher stage (p=0.05) and facial nerve palsy at presentation (p=0.0008) were significant predictors of inferior PFS. CONCLUSION: Patients with carcinoma of EAC present mostly in advanced stage at our centre. Combined higher stage (T3) and facial nerve palsy at presentation portend poorer outcome. Combined modality treatment with surgery and radiotherapy should be advocated and palliative RT remains a reasonable treatment option in patients with advanced incurable disease.