Split-course hypofractionated palliative radiotherapy for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma - a worthwhile treatment schedule in the UK?

摘要

The standard radical schedule for non-surgical treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is 70 Gy in 2 Gy fractions over 7 weeks or equivalent (65 Gy in 30 fractions) with or without concurrent chemotherapy. A significant minority of patients have poor performance status with multiple co-morbidities rendering them unfit to tolerate potential toxicities associated with the above regimen. In the last few years, several studies have looked at the role of hypofractionated palliative radiotherapy schedules. Some studies have used daily treatments lasting about 3 weeks [1,2]; others have explored split-course regimens [3-5].