Conventional radiation therapy with hyperfractionated radiation therapy in cancer hypopharynx - A prospective comparative study

Abstract

Cancer treatment of the head and neck, the effectiveness of hyperfractionated radiation therapy (HFRT) has been revealed in recent randomized trials, mainly in their local control. As the hypopharynx is situated near the larynx, to achieve greater laryngeal preservation, local control of hypopharyngeal cancers should be achieved; it is very important to enhance the patient’s quality of life. In this study, hyperfractionated radiation therapy results were compared with conventional radiation therapy (CFRT) results.Patients with squamous cell cancer of hypopharynx (Stage II to IVA); were submitted with hyperfractionated (n = 34) or conventionally fractionated (n = 22) radiotherapy, with chemotherapy, between July 2018 to January 2020.In conventional radiotherapy, each patient received 2 Gy per fraction with a total dose of 66 Gy at over 6.3 weeks, along with concurrent cisplatin (30 mg/m 2) weekly. In hyperfractionated radiotherapy, each patient received 1.2 Gy per fraction two fractions per day six hours apart with a total dose of 72 Gy at over 6 weeks, along with concurrent cisplatin (30 mg/m 2) weekly. The endpoints were tumor response and toxicities.: Complete response rate in the HFRT group was 85.29% and that in the CFRT group was 68.18%. The most prevalent acute toxicities were skin, mucosal and dysphagia related. The acute skin toxicity was significantly higher in CFRT (54.55%) than in HFRT (44.12%).: This study suggests that for the treatment of locally advanced hypopharynx cancers, hyperfractionated radiation therapy with simultaneous chemotherapy can be a standard method of treatment and care.