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OBJECTIVES: Given the difficulties in diagnosing and treating head-and-neck cancer, care is centralised in the Netherlands in eight head-and-neck cancer centres and six satellite regional hospitals as preferred partners. A requirement is that all patients of the partner should be discussed in a multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT) with the head-and-neck centre as part of a Dutch health policy rule. In this mixed-method study, we evaluate the value that the video-conferenced MDT adds to the MDTs in the care pathway, quantitative regarding recommendations given and qualitative in terms of benefits for the teams and the patient. DESIGN: A sequential mixed-method study. SETTING: One oncology centre and its partner in the Northern part of the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Head-and-neck cancer specialists presenting patient cases during video-conferenced MDT over a period of 6 months. Semistructured interviews held with six medical specialists, three from the centre and three from the partner. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage of cases in which recommendations were given on diagnostic and/or therapeutic plans during video-conferenced MDT. RESULTS: In eight of the 336 patient cases presented (2%), specialists offered recommendations to the collaborating team (three given from centre to partner and five from partner to centre). Recommendations mainly consisted of alternative diagnostic modalities or treatment plans for a specific patient. Interviews revealed that specialists perceive added value in discussing complex cases because the other team offered a fres

Contains fulltext : 173061.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), BACKGROUND: In definitive radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, clinically uninvolved cervical lymph nodes are irradiated with a so-called 'elective dose' in order to achieve control of clinically occult metastases. As a consequence of high-resolution diagnostic imaging, occult tumor volume has significantly decreased in the last decades. Since the elective dose is dependent on occult tumor volume, the currently used elective dose may be higher than necessary. Because bilateral irradiation of the neck contributes to dysphagia, xerostomia and hypothyroidism in a dose dependent way, dose de-escalation to these regions can open a window of opportunity to reduce toxicity and improve quality of life after treatment. METHODS: UPGRADE-RT is a multicenter, phase III, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Patients to be treated with definitive radiation therapy for a newly diagnosed stage T2-4 N0-2 M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx are eligible. Exclusion criteria are recurrent disease, oncologic surgery to the head and neck area, concomitant chemotherapy or epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors. In total, 300 patients will be randomized in a 2:1 ratio to a treatment arm with or without de-escalation of the elective radiation dose and introduction of an intermediate dose-level for selected lymph nodes. Radiation therapy planning FDG-PET/CT-scans will be acquired to guide risk assessment of borderline-sized cervical nodes that can be treated with the intermediate dose level. Treatment will be given with intensity-modulated radiation therapy or volumetric arc therapy with simultaneous-integrated boost using an accelerated fractionation schedule, 33 fractions in 5 weeks. The primary endpoint is 'normalcy of diet' at 1 year after treatment (toxicity). The secondary endpoint is the actuarial rate of recurrence in electively irradiated lymph nodes at 2 years after treatment (safety). DISCUSSION: The objective of the UPGRADE-RT t

Item does not contain fulltext, BACKGROUND: Tumor volume is an important predictor of outcome in radiotherapy alone. Its significance in concomitant chemoradiation (CCRT) is much less clear. We analyzed the prognostic value of primary tumor volume for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with CCRT. METHODS: Three hundred sixty patients treated with definitive CCRT for advanced HNSCC were selected. The pretreatment MRI or CT scan was used to calculate the primary tumor volume. Median follow-up was 19.8 months. RESULTS: The average primary tumor volume was 37.0 cm(3) (range, 2.1-182.7 cm(3); median, 28.7 cm(3)). Multivariate analysis showed a significant effect of tumor volume on local control. The hazard ratio for a local recurrence increased by 14% per 10 cm(3) volume increase (95% CI, 8% to 21%). There was no significant independent effect of T and N status on local control. CONCLUSION: For advanced HNSCC, tumor volume is more powerful for predicting outcome after CCRT than TNM status.

Contains fulltext : 52824.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access), PURPOSE: To validate the recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) classification system for squamous cell head and neck cancer as recently reported by the VU University Medical Center. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In eight Dutch head and neck cancer centers, data necessary to classify patients according to the RPA system were retrospectively collected from the charts of a group of 780 patients treated between 1989 and 2003. The patients in this validation group were classified according to the RPA classification system. For each endpoint, the 5-year values and hazard ratios were calculated and compared with the results of the VU University Medical Center. The RPA classification system was considered valid if the hazard ratio of the validation population was within the 95% confidence interval of the VU University Medical Center study population. RESULTS: The locoregional control rate was 82%, 75%, and 63% at 5 years for those with class I, II, and III, respectively (p < 0.0001). The hazard ratio for the locoregional control rate relative to class I was 1.44 (95% confidence interval, 0.97-2.16) for class II and 2.37 (95% confidence interval, 1.57-3.57) for class III. Similar results were found for the distant metastasis, overall survival, and disease-free survival rates. CONCLUSION: The RPA classification system for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the postoperative setting, which was originally designed at one center, proved to be valid in a multicenter setting among patients included in a national multicenter study. This validated RPA classification scheme can be used to assess standard treatment strategies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the postoperative setting, as well as in the design of future prospective studies.

In The Netherlands. head and neck cancer (3.9%) ranks the eighth most frequemly diagnoscd malignant tumor. Radiation therapy (IIT) plays an important role in the treatmem of patients with head and neck cancer, as they constitute approximately 6% of those treated in a routine radiation therapy department. Radiation therapy can be used as a single treatment modality. but is also often combined with surgery and/or chemotherapy ( chemoradiation) in multimodaliry treatment protocols. Radiation therapy and (concurrent) chemotherapy play an important role in organ preservation protocols. The effect of ionizing radiation is unfortunately not limited to the malignant cells: it also affeers normal surrounding tissues which can lead to acute and late normal tissue complications. The head and neck region harbors organs ancl strucrures essential for basic functions, such as swallowing, speech and respiration. Preservation of quality of life (QOL) in conjunction with cure. i.e. complication-free survival. has become a key-issue in cancer treatment. ln radiation oncology the rapid technological development in linear accelerators and treatment planning systems (TPS) have significantly increased the accuracy and applicability of high doses of radiation. Highclose. high-precision RT has come with.in reach for many patients. This so called 3D conformal radiation therapy (3DCIIT) enables one to conform the dose distribution to the target volume (rumor) and therewith a better sparing (avoidance) of the surrounding normal structures is achieved. In this thesis the capabilities of 3DCIIT for sparing normal tissue structures, such as the major salivary glands. are explored. Also examples of dose-escalation wimout increased toxicity are presented. Moreover. the merit of other preventative measures to limit acute normal tissue complications. such as the use of antibiotics to eliminate severe mucositis. is reported.