Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tubarial glands are a new organ at risk for head and neck cancer radiation therapy (RT). We aimed to study the feasibility of sparing them using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
METHODS: Tubarial glands were delineated for 17 patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma receiving definitive RT, and treatment plans were re-optimized to spare dose to the tubarial glands while maintaining target coverage. A paired t test was performed to compare the mean dose of tubarial glands and target coverage.
RESULTS: The difference in mean doses was 4.9 and 7.0 Gy for the ipsilateral and contralateral tubarial glands, respectively (p < 0.01). The mean dose to tubarial gland was ≤39 Gy in 35% versus 47% (ipsilateral) and 70% versus 100% (contralateral) in clinical and re-optimized plans, respectively. Re-optimized ipsilateral tubarial gland mean ≤39 Gy was achieved more commonly in patients with base of tongue versus tonsil primaries (86% vs. 20%, p = 0.02).
CONCLUSION: This pilot study demonstrates the dosimetric feasibility of tubarial gland sparing with IMRT. Dosimetric constraints need to be determined with larger studies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1582-1588 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Head & neck |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2024 |
Keywords
- Humans
- Oropharyngeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy
- Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated/methods
- Pilot Projects
- Feasibility Studies
- Radiotherapy Dosage
- Male
- Female
- Middle Aged
- Aged
- Organ Sparing Treatments/methods
- Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/methods
- Organs at Risk/radiation effects
- Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/radiotherapy