Radiotherapy for benign head and neck paragangliomas

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Otorhinolaryngology

Background:

• Benign head-and-neck paragangliomas (PGs) are rare tumors.
• Radiotherapy (RT) is a treatment option for PGs.
• Long-term outcomes of RT for PGs require updated data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update the experience and outcomes of treating benign head-and-neck paragangliomas (PGs) using radiotherapy (RT).
• To assess the efficacy and safety of RT in managing these tumors.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 149 patients with 176 PGs treated with curative-intent RT.
• The most common fractionation was 45 Gy/25 fractions/5 weeks.
• Follow-up included physical examination and CT/MRI with a median of 10.6 years.

Main Results:

• Excellent long-term outcomes were observed: 5-year local control of 99%, 10-year of 96%, and 15-year of 95%.
• Distant metastasis-free survival, cause-specific survival, and overall survival rates were high.
• No moderate/severe complications, radiation-induced second tumors, or malignant transformations were reported.

Conclusions:

• Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for benign head-and-neck paragangliomas.
• RT offers a low risk of complications, making it a safe therapeutic choice.
• This study confirms the durable efficacy of RT for head-and-neck PGs.