Implementation of intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancers in routine practice

To report on patterns of relapse following implementation of intensity-modulated radiotherapy and subsequent changes in practice in a tertiary care centre.

Between 2008 and 2011, 188 consecutive patients (mean age 59 years old) received intensity-modulated radiotherapies with curative intent for squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity (17.5%), oropharynx (43%), hypopharynx (21%), larynx (14%), sinonasal cavities (6%), nasopharynx (1.5%) at the university hospital of Besançon. There were stage I and II 9%, III 24.5%, IV 66.5%. One hundred and thirty-eight underwent exclusive intensity-modulated radiotherapy, 50 underwent postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy, 174 had concurrent chemotherapy, 57 had induction chemotherapy. Dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy with static fields was performed for all patients using sequential irradiation in 174 patients and simultaneous integrated boost irradiation in 14 patients.

With a median follow-up was 27.5 months, there was 79% of locoregional failures occurred in the 95% isodose. Two-year overall survival, disease-free, local failure-free and locoregional failure-free survival rates were73%, 60%, 79% and 72%, respectively. Prognostic factors for disease-free survival were stage (IV vs. I-III) with a relative risk of 1.7 [1.1-2.8] (P=0.02) and T stage with 1.6 [1.04-2.5] (P=0.03).

The current series showed similar patterns of failure as in other tertiary care centres. We did not identify intensity-modulated radiotherapy specific relapse risks.