Feasibility of organ-preservation strategies in head and neck cancer in developing countries.
Indian J Cancer
;
2012 Jan-Mar; 49(1): 15-20
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-144546
ABSTRACT
Background:
Chemoradiotherapy is an established strategy for organ preservation in head-neck cancer. These protocols are associated with added toxicity and need support infrastructure. Practice setup and availability of resources vary at the community level in developing countries.Aim:
To evaluate the feasibility of organ-preservation strategies in different settings in developing countries. Settings andDesign:
Survey. Materials andMethods:
In a questionnaire-based study, questions were directed to clinicians with varied practice setups to gather information regarding infrastructure, finance, and feasibility of organ-preservation protocols and their current practice trends. StatisticalAnalysis:
Descriptive.Results:
Responses from 100 clinicians with focused practice in head-neck oncology were analyzed. Sixty-one percent clinicians were practicing organ preservation for advanced head-neck cancers in their practice. However, 65% centers lacked sufficient infrastructure to support organ-preservation protocols. Forty percent patients were treated on cobalt-radiotherapy machine. Fifty-nine percent of clinicians suggested that less than third of their patients were fit to undergo chemoradiation and 67% believed that adherence to treatment protocol was observed in less than two-thirds of cases. Based on their experience 82% clinicians felt that only one-third patients requiring salvage would actually undergo treatment. The majority of the patients (68%) used personal funds for treatment and less than one-third of the patients could afford complete treatment.Conclusions:
The infrastructure needed to support organ-preservation protocols varies significantly between centers in developing countries. It may not be feasible to perform organ-preservation strategies in certain centers and feasibility guidelines should be made for their judicious use in developing countries.
Full text:
Available
Index:
IMSEAR (South-East Asia)
Main subject:
Humans
/
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
/
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols
/
Surveys and Questionnaires
/
Cisplatin
/
Treatment Outcome
/
Guidelines as Topic
/
Combined Modality Therapy
/
Developing Countries
/
Fluorouracil
Type of study:
Practice guideline
/
Qualitative research
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Indian J Cancer
Year:
2012
Type:
Article
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