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Proton Therapy Delivery and Its Clinical Application in Select Solid Tumor Malignancies
Published on: February 6, 2019
Initial clinical experience with helical tomotherapy for head and neck cancer
Allen M Chen1, Richard L S Jennelle, Radhika Sreeraman
1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California 95817, USA. allen.chen@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Background:
To report a single-institutional experience with the use of helical tomotherapy (HT)-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer.
Methods:
Seventy-seven consecutive patients were treated with HT for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck to a median dose of 66 Gy (range, 60 to 72 Gy). Megavoltage CT scans were obtained as part of an image-guided registration protocol for patient alignment before each treatment. Concurrent chemotherapy was administered to 48 patients (62%).
Results:
The 2-year estimates of overall survival, local-regional control, and disease-free survival were 82%, 77%, and 71%, respectively. Spatial evaluation of local-regional failures revealed that 16 of the 18 patients who progressed in the primary site or neck failed in the high-dose planning target volume (PTV).
Conclusions:
HT appears to achieve clinical outcomes comparable to contemporary series reporting on IMRT for head and neck cancer.
