Continuous accelerated 7-days-a-week radiotherapy for head-and-neck cancer: Long-term results of Phase III clinical trial

Purpose: To update 5-year results of a previously published study on special 7-days-a-week fractionation continuous accelerated irradiation (CAIR) for head-and-neck cancer patients. Methods and Materials: One hundred patients with squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck in Stage T 2-4N 0-1M 0 were randomized between two definitive radiation treatments: accelerated fractionation 7 days a week including weekends (CAIR) and conventional 5 days a week (control). Hence the overall treatment time was 2 weeks shorter in CAIR. Results: Five-year local tumor control was 75% in the CAIR group and 33% in the control arm ( p < 0.00004). Tumor-cure benefit corresponded with significant improvement in disease-free survival and overall survival rates. Confluent mucositis was the main acute toxicity, with the incidence significantly higher in CAIR patients than in control (respectively, 94% vs. 53%). When 2.0-Gy fractions were used, radiation necrosis developed in 5 patients (22%) in the CAIR group as a consequential late effect (CLE), but when fraction size was reduced to 1.8 Gy no more CLE occurred. Actuarial 5-year morbidity-free survival rate was similar for both treatments. Conclusions: Selected head-and-neck cancer patients could be treated very effectively with 7-days-a-week radiation schedule with no compromise of total dose and with slight 10% reduction of fraction dose (2 Gy–1.8 Gy), which article gives 1 week reduction of overall treatment time compared with standard 70 Gy in 35 fractions over 47–49 days. Although this report is based on the relatively small group of patients, its results have encouraged us to use CAIR fractionation in a standard radiation treatment for moderately advanced head-and-neck cancer patients.