Clinical Introduction of Stem Cell Sparing Radiotherapy to Reduce the Risk of Xerostomia in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background/objectives

Studies have shown that dose to the parotid gland stem cell rich (SCR) regions should be reduced to lower the risk of xerostomia after radiotherapy (RT). This study aimed to assess whether stem cell sparing (SCS)-RT can be adopted in routine clinical practice.

Methods

Multiple planning studies were performed to compare SCS-RT with standard (ST)-RT using 30 head and neck cancer patients. Shifts in mean dose to the SCR regions (D_mean,SCR) and other organs at risk and their estimated impact on normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for side-effects were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A multicenter study was performed (eight institutions, three patients) to test the generalizability of SCS-RT using the Friedman test.

Results<

SUBMITTER: van Rijn-Dekker MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11674908 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature