Radiotherapy as Elective Treatment of the Node-negative Neck in Oral Squamous Cell Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Previous studies of node-negative oral squamous cell carcinoma have shown a benefit of elective neck dissection compared to observation. Evidence for radiotherapy as single-modality elective treatment of the node-negative neck is so far lacking. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a retrospective material of 420 early-stage oral cancers from 2000 to 2016, overall survival, disease-free survival, and regional relapse-free survival were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: At five years, overall survival was 59.7%, disease-specific survival was 77.2%, and regional relapse-free survival was 83.5%. Among those with adjuvant treatment of the neck after surgery of T1-T2 tumours during 2009-2016, regional relapse-free survival at five years was 85.7% for elective radiotherapy of the neck and 87.4% for elective neck dissection. CONCLUSION: Elective radiotherapy to the neck with a modern technique and adequate dose might be an alternative to neck dissection for patients with early-stage oral squamous cell cancer.

Validation of a Clinical Cancer Register at the Head and Neck Oncology Center in Örebro.

BACKGROUND: This was a validation study of a regional register of oral cancer in Örebro, Sweden. The purpose was to assess the rate of errors in baseline, and treatment, and the completeness and accuracy of data on recurrences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 653 cases with squamous cell cancer in the oral cavity were identified from the register. A randomized sample of 73 (11%) was selected, and a set of relevant data was compared to medical records. RESULTS: Data on patient and tumour characteristics showed high accuracy, with 98% correct data and more than 99% of treatment data were correct. Follow-up data had a higher rate of errors, with 23% of recurrences not recorded, 13.6% misclassified, and 9.1% of cases showing errors in timing of the recurrence. CONCLUSION: data concerning patients, tumour status, and treatment in the Regional Head and Neck Register in Örebro are highly accurate. However, the follow-up data contain a higher rate of errors, that must be taken into consideration when evaluating outcome after treatment.

Magnetic Resonance Compatibility of a Transponder Aimed for Radiotherapy Positioning - A Phantom Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Electromagnetic Positioning Systems (EMP) is a new position-ing technique in four-dimensional radiotherapy. Patients with implanted transponders may be referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) making it important to establish the MR safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Oranges were prepared with transponders and imaged on a 3T MR scanner with different sequences. Computed tomography (CT) was performed as comparison. MR artifacts were assessed. An estimation of the maximum transponder de-flection force and heating was made. RESULTS: The mean measured displacement of transponders was 0.1 mm (range=0.03-0.3 mm). Artifacts were observed adjacent to transponders using all sequences. The deflection force on the transponder in the gantry was less than 38 mN. No heating was observed. CONCLUSION: The absence of any substantial movement, the weak measured deflection force and absence of observed heating speaks for the safe use of MR imaging with transponder 3T. Local artefacts makes evaluation impossible adjacent to transponders.