Cervical nodal level V can safely be omitted in the treatment of locally advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with definitive IMRT Journal Article


Authors: Gutiontov, S.; Leeman, J.; Lok, B.; Romesser, P.; Riaz, N.; Tsai, C. J.; Lee, N.; McBride, S.
Article Title: Cervical nodal level V can safely be omitted in the treatment of locally advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with definitive IMRT
Abstract: SummaryObjectives Patients treated with definitive chemoradiation for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) experience excellent outcomes but treatment toxicities remain significant. The adoption of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) reduced morbidity by allowing targeting of at risk areas while sparing uninvolved regions. We explored whether level V lymphatics (LVN) can be omitted from elective volumes in OPC. Materials and methods This analysis included 408 patients treated for stage III/IV OPC with IMRT at our institution. For 295 (72.3%) patients, bilateral LVN were covered, while LVN were omitted in 113 (27.7%). Nodal staging was N2a or greater in 324 patients (79.4%). All but one received concurrent chemotherapy. Actuarial regional recurrence was calculated using the KM method with the event of interest defined as any regional recurrence; all others were censored. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on variables significantly associated with both the inclusion of elective LVN and regional recurrence. Results After a median follow-up of 63.6 months (range, 1.3-125 months), there were no level V failures in either group. The 2-year cumulative rate of regional failure (RF) was 4.5% (95% CI = 2.9-6.6) in the overall cohort, 2.2% (95% CI = 0.1-5.9) in the LVN untreated group, and 5.4% (95% CI = 3.4-8.1) in the LVN treated group. After adjusting for Stage and tobacco status, there was no significant difference between the two groups in RF (HR = 1.75 95% CI = (0.61-5.07), p = 0.30). Conclusion LVN can be safely omitted from the clinical target volume in locally advanced OPC without gross LVN involvement. © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: imrt; radiation therapy; clinical target volume; hpv; oropharyngeal cancer; level v; volume de-escalation
Journal Title: Oral Oncology
Volume: 58
ISSN: 1368-8375
Publisher: Elsevier Inc.  
Date Published: 2016-07-01
Start Page: 27
End Page: 31
Language: English
DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2016.04.011
PROVIDER: scopus
PUBMED: 27311399
PMCID: PMC5609180
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 July 2016 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Nadeem Riaz
    415 Riaz
  2. Nancy Y. Lee
    871 Lee
  3. Benjamin H Lok
    63 Lok
  4. Paul Bernard Romesser
    189 Romesser
  5. Sean Matthew McBride
    293 McBride
  6. Jonathan Eric Leeman
    77 Leeman
  7. Chiaojung Jillian   Tsai
    238 Tsai