Objective: Severe mucositis during bioradiotherapy （BRT） with Cetuximab for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck （LA-SCCHN） sometimes causes interruption of the treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of dysphagia following BRT.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 21 patients with BRT and 19 patients with CDDP-RT following induction chemotherapy （ICT） as an initial treatment from April 2009 to March 2016. We examined the frequency and risk factors of aspiration pneumonia.
Results: During BRT, aspiration was observed in the descending stage of the larynx and it occurred more frequently in LA-SCCHN compared to that in early stages. Aspiration as an acute adverse event was more common in the BRT treated group than in the CDDP-RT treated group following ICT. However, dysphagia as late toxicity tended to be higher in the CDDP-RT treated group than in the BRT treated group following ICT. Further, many BRT treated patients experienced aspiration at an earlier time of the treatment, compared to CDDP-RT treated patients.
Conclusion: When selecting BRT for LA-SCCHN, it is important to pay attention to aspiration pneumonia as an acute adverse event.