Objective 1) The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the incidence of radionecrosis among patients treated with radiation therapy for oral cavity & oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma at our institution. Many patients with oral cavity & oropharyngeal cancers receive radiation to preserve the tongue, knowing the risks of post-treatment radionecrosis. However, recent protocols have intensified chemo-radiotherapy in an effort to improve local control while possibly increasing risk. 2) Among those patients with radionecrosis, we also analyzed their cancer treatment regimen, associated risk factors, the severity of the radionecrosis and the resulting treatment they recieved. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all adult patients at our tertiary care facility with biopsy proven squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity & oropharynx from 1999 to 2007 who completed a full course of radiotherapy at our facility with at least 6 months follow-up. Medical charts were reviewed for the presence of radionecrosis as well as for other corresponding, pertinent data. Results After reviewing 241 patients, a total of 107 patients were included. 5 of 65 with oropharynx disease had radionecrosis, revealing an incidence of 7.7%. Among the oral cavity group there were 8 out of 42 patients with radionecrosis, revealing an incidence of 19%. The overall incidence among our treatment group was 12.1%. Conclusions Radiation-induced necrosis of the oral cavity & oropharynx is still a significant complication in the treatment of head and neck cancer and poses a higher risk in the oral cavity than the oropharynx.
A functional variant at the miRNA binding site in HMGB1 gene is associated with risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma
