Current practice in management of the neck after chemoradiotherapy for patients with locally advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Patients whose necks respond completely to chemoradiation are unlikely to have residual viable tumour, which questions the need for planned neck dissection. Partial responders often need further assessment. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is becoming the standard method of assessing the response of both the primary site and neck to chemoradiation. There is debate, however, about the timing of assessment, the best imaging technique, and the extent of neck dissection, and emerging evidence supports more selective procedures with their attendant reductions in morbidity. Various trials have tried to settle these controversies, but we hypothesised that current practice varies across the United Kingdom (UK), so we set out to establish what it is. A total of 219 questionnaires were sent to head and neck surgeons of varying disciplines and their oncology counterparts, which outlined a clinical picture of a patient with persistent nodal disease after chemoradiotherapy, and requested information about the respondents’ preferred choice and timing of investigations in addition to the type of neck dissection, if indicated. There were noticeable variations in practice, with a tendency towards personal choice rather than a multidisciplinary approach. Although there were some items of broad agreement, there was disparity about the timing of imaging and operation. There is inconsistency in the management of the neck in these patients in the UK, which may reflect an absence of guidelines and paucity of evidence-based information. We need to unify practice to improve the care of patients.