The extent of unnecessary tooth loss due to extractions prior to radiotherapy based on radiation field and dose in patients with head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Prior to radiotherapy (RT), teeth with poor prognosis that pose a risk for post-RT osteoradionecrosis (ORN) are removed. To allow enough time for adequate wound healing prior to RT, decisions are made based on the estimated radiation dose. This study aimed to gain insight into (1) the overall number of teeth extracted and (2) the patient and tumor characteristics associated with the number of redundantly extracted teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), treated with RT between 2015 and 2019, were included in this cross-sectional study. For each extracted tooth the radiation dose was calculated retrospectively. The cut-off point for valid extraction was set at ≥ 40 Gy in accordance with the national protocol. Potential factors for doses ≥ 40 Gy were identified, including age, sex, tumor location, tumor (T) and nodal stage (N), overall tumor stage and number of teeth extracted. RESULTS: A total of 1759 teeth were removed from 358 patients. Of these 1759 teeth, 1274 (74%) appeared to have been removed redundantly, based on the mean dose (Dmean) of < 40 Gy. Using the maximum dose (Dmax) of < 40 Gy, 1080 teeth (61%) appeared to have been removed redundantly. Tumor location and N-classification emerged as the most important associative variables in the multivariable regression analysis. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge this is the first study to provide insight into the amount of teeth redundantly extracted prior to RT and represents a step forward in de-escalating the damage to the masticatory system prior to RT.

Assessment of local blood flow with laser Doppler flowmetry in irradiated mandibular and frontal bone, an experiment in Göttingen minipigs.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate local blood flow changes in the mandibular bone compared to the os frontale after irradiation in various doses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used an animal experiment with 16 female Göttingen minipigs. Three groups of four animals were irradiated with equivalent doses of 25, 50 or 70 Gray on the mandible and os frontale and four animals served as control. Three months after irradiation laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used to record local blood flow on the left mandible and in the irradiated area on the os frontale. At 6 months measurements were repeated. Descriptive and univariate analyses were conducted and p-values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Local blood flow measurements in the mandible were significantly higher compared to the os frontale. In the os frontale and mandible there was no significant change in the measurements with increasing irradiation dose. CONCLUSION: We found a non-significant decrease in LDF values with an increase in radiation dose in the mandible and non-significant changes in the os frontale at 3 and 6 months. We consider this to represent the process of on-going fibrosis affecting the local blood flow in the mandible.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy for oropharyngeal cancer: radiation dosage constraint at the anterior mandible.

Because the survival of endosseous implants in irradiated bone is lower than in non-irradiated bone, particularly if the irradiation dose exceeds 50Gy, a study was carried out to assess the irradiation dose in the anterior mandible, when intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is used. The hypothesis was that adequate IMRT planning in oropharyngeal cancer patients is allowing sufficiently low anterior mandibular bone radiation dosages to safely insert endosseous implants. Ten randomly selected patients with oropharyngeal cancer, primarily treated by intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), were included in this study. First, at five determined positions distributed over the anterior mandible, the appropriate radiation dosages were calculated according to the originally arranged fractionated radiation schedule. Second, for each patient an adjusted fractionated radiation schedule was established with an extra dose constraint which allowed a lower dose in the mandible taking into account that the anterior mandible needs protection against radiation-induced osteoradionecrosis. The goal for the adjusted fractionated radiation schedule was similar as that of the original fractionated radiation schedule, including a desired tumour target dosage of 70Gy and maximum mean local dosages for organs at risk. The data revealed a considerable and statistically significant, irradiation dose reduction in the anterior mandible without compromising the other constraints. As a result of this study it is strongly advised to maximize dose constraint to the anterior mandible when planning irradiation for oropharyngeal cancer patients, using IMRT. This would greatly facilitate successful implant treatment for this group of patients. The fractionated radiation schedules used, should also be used for the planning of the best implant positions by integrating them in the implant planning software.