scholarly journals Management of Chemoradiation-Induced Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancers With Oral Glutamine

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 200-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Pattanayak ◽  
Niharika Panda ◽  
Manoj Kumar Dash ◽  
Sumita Mohanty ◽  
Sagarika Samantaray

Purpose Head and neck cancers are the third most common cancers worldwide. Oral mucositis is the most common toxicity seen in patients who receive chemoradiation to treat head and neck cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral glutamine supplementation in these patients. Materials and Methods From December 2013 to December 2014, we randomly assigned to two arms 162 patients who had squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Patients in arm A were given oral glutamine once per day, whereas those in arm B served as negative control subjects. All patients received radiotherapy given as 70 Gy in 35 fractions over 7 weeks with an injection of cisplatin once per week. Patients were assessed once per week to evaluate for the onset and severity of mucositis, pain, use of analgesics, and for Ryle tube feeding. Results We observed that 53.1% of patients developed mucositis toward the fifth week in the glutamine arm compared with 55.5% of patients in the control arm at the third week. None in the glutamine arm compared with 92.35% of patients in the control arm developed G3 mucositis. Rates of adverse events like pain, dysphagia, nausea, edema, and cough, as well as use of analgesics and Ryle tube feeding, were significantly lower in the glutamine arm than in the control arm. Conclusion This study highlights that the onset as well as the severity of mucositis in patients receiving glutamine was significantly delayed. None of the patients receiving glutamine developed G3 mucositis. Hence, the findings emphasize the use of oral glutamine supplementation as a feasible and affordable treatment option for mucositis in patients with head and neck cancers who are receiving chemoradiation.

2018 ◽  
Vol 07 (03) ◽  
pp. 188-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundaram Subramanian ◽  
Nithya Sridharan ◽  
V. Balasundaram ◽  
Sameer Chaudhari

Abstract Context: Role of nimotuzumab in locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) is well established in India; however, no clinical evidence is available for its role in recurrent and/or metastatic HNC. Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nimotuzumab when added to standard treatment in unresectable, recurrent, and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) Settings and Design: Hospital records of 14 patients diagnosed with recurrent and/or metastatic HNC with histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma and being treated with nimotuzumab along with standard treatments from December 2010 to December 2016 were retrospectively evaluated. Subjects and Methods: The tumor response rate and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Toxicity and adverse events (AEs) were assessed as per common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) v 4. Results: Oral cavity was most commonly involved region followed by hypopharynx and oropharynx. At 24 weeks after completion of treatment, overall response rate (complete response (CR) + partial response (PR)) was 75%. Survival rate at 1, 2, and 3 years was 77.80%, 64.81%, and 64.81%, respectively. At a median follow-up of 15.17 months, median OS was not reached. All AEs were either Grade I (66.7%) or Grade II (33.3%). No Grade III or Grade IV AEs were observed. No added toxicity was observed due to nimotuzumab. Conclusions: In the first of its kind study, the addition of nimotuzumab to standard treatment showed promising response rate as well as survival outcomes in recurrent and/or metastatic SCCHN patients without producing additional toxicity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (34) ◽  
pp. 5751-5756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Hoskin ◽  
Martin Robinson ◽  
Nicholas Slevin ◽  
David Morgan ◽  
Kevin Harrington ◽  
...  

Purpose To evaluate the effect of epoetin alfa on local disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and cancer treatment–related anemia and fatigue in patients with head and neck cancer receiving radical radiotherapy with curative intent. Patients and Methods Patients (N = 301) with hemoglobin (Hb) less than 15 g/dL were randomly assigned in a ratio of 1:1 to receive radiotherapy plus epoetin alfa (10,000 U subcutaneously [SC] three times weekly if baseline Hb was < 12.5 g/dL; 4,000 U SC three times weekly if baseline Hb ≥ 12.5 g/dL) or radiotherapy alone. Hb levels were monitored weekly. The primary end point was local DFS, defined as the time from random assignment to local disease recurrence or death. Secondary efficacy end points included OS, local tumor response, and local tumor control. Patients were followed at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks postradiotherapy and annually for 5 years. Cancer treatment–related anemia and fatigue were evaluated with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Anemia and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck. Adverse events were recorded up to 12 weeks postradiotherapy. Results Hb levels increased from baseline with epoetin alfa. The median duration of local DFS was not statistically different between groups (observation, 35.42 months; epoetin alfa, 31.47 months; hazard ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.41). Groups did not significantly differ in DFS, OS, tumor outcomes, or cancer treatment–related anemia or fatigue. No new or unexpected adverse events were observed. Conclusion Addition of epoetin alfa to radical radiotherapy did not affect survival, tumor outcomes, anemia, or fatigue positively or negatively in patients with head and neck cancer.


2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (20) ◽  
pp. 3330-3335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen K. Williamson ◽  
James Moon ◽  
Chao H. Huang ◽  
Perry P. Guaglianone ◽  
Michael LeBlanc ◽  
...  

Purpose We conducted a phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of single-agent sorafenib in chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The primary end point was response probability (ie, confirmed complete and partial response [PR]). Patients and Methods Chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic, persistent, or recurrent SCCHN who received one induction or fewer or received an adjuvant chemotherapy regimen, who had adequate organ function, and who had a performance status ≤ 1 were eligible. Sorafenib was administered orally at 400 mg twice daily on a continuous basis in 28-day cycles. Responses were evaluated according to RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors). Results Sorafenib was generally well tolerated. Of the 41 eligible patients assessed for adverse events, one experienced a grade 4 adverse event as a result of an asymptomatic pulmonary embolus. The most common grades 2 to 3 adverse events were fatigue, anorexia, stomatitis/oral pain, abdominal pain, hand-foot syndrome, weight loss, and hypertension. There was one confirmed PR and two unconfirmed PRs. The estimated confirmed response probability was 2% (95% CI, 0% to 13%). The estimated median progression-free survival was 4 months (95% CI, 2 to 4 months), and the estimated median overall survival was 9 months (95% CI, 7 to 14 months). Conclusion Sorafenib was well tolerated. Although response was poor, progression-free and overall survival times compare favorably with previous Southwest Oncology Group, phase II, single-agent trials.


2012 ◽  
Vol 270 (7) ◽  
pp. 1981-1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Digonnet ◽  
Marc Hamoir ◽  
Guy Andry ◽  
Vincent Vander Poorten ◽  
Missak Haigentz ◽  
...  

BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannan Wang ◽  
Mengxue Wang ◽  
Yan Tang ◽  
Bincan Sun ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Head and neck cancers are aggressive cancers, most clinical studies focused on the prognosis of patients with head and neck cancer. However, perioperative mortality was rarely mentioned. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed using all head and neck cancer patients admitting in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University from January 2010 to December 2019. The analysis of overall survival and progression-free survival were performed using the Kaplan–Meier method, and cross tabulation with chi-squared testing was applied to analyze the difference in parameters between groups. Results From January 2010 to December 2019, a total of 6576 patients with head and neck cancers were admitted to our department and 7 died in the hospital, all of whom were middle-aged and elderly patients including 6 males and 1 female. The perioperative mortality rate (POMR) was about 1‰. The causes of death included acute heart failure, rupture of large blood vessels in the neck, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy due to asphyxia, respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest. Conclusion Preoperative radiotherapy, previous chemotherapy, hypertension, diabetes, advanced clinical stage and postoperative infection are risk factors for perioperative mortality of head and neck cancer.


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