New Guidelines for Reirradiation of Head and Neck Cancer
Source: Medscape News Today When head and neck cancer recurs and surgery is not an option, reirradiation provides the only potentially curative option. However, because the tumor often recurs in the same place or very close to tissue that has already been irradiated, this treatment approach represents a "significant challenge." For this reason, it should be handled at a tertiary-care center, according to a new guideline issued by the American College of Radiology. Specifically, it stipulates that the tertiary center should have a head and neck oncology team that is equipped with the resources and the experience to manage the complexities and toxicities of retreatment. In the guideline, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, a panel of experts outline appropriateness criteria for various clinical scenarios that arise with such patients. It provides a consensus on how patients should be managed. "This is an important document because it is the first set of guidelines for the potentially curative treatment of patients who have regrowth of head and neck tumors. It provides a consensus on how patients should be managed," coauthor Madhur Kumar Garg, MD, said in a statement. Dr. Garg is from the Department of Radiation Oncology at Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, New York, where about a dozen reirradiation procedures are performed annually. Commitment to Retreatment Retreatment is justified because clinical trial results have shown that local treatment improves overall survival, the panel of experts notes. However, they emphasize that, before a commitment to [...]