Head and Neck Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
flap reconstructions, flaps, Head and Neck cancer, toxicities, adjuvant chemoradiation
Brief summary
Head and Neck cancer treatment may have significant functional consequences. Decisions about treatment are usually hard to make, as they must strike a balance between efficacy of the treatment and likelihood of survival. Reconstructive surgery with flaps plays a key role in the head and neck cancer resection in order to achieve local control, but often leaves a large, disfiguring composite defect that not only compromises the patient's functional and aesthetic outcome, but also significantly affects quality of life. Adjuvant treatment, including post operative Radiation Therapy (poRT) and chemotherapy, is crucial in improving locoregional control and survival in locally-advanced cases and the flaps are usually included in radiotherapy fields. Fourthysix patients undergoing to reconstructive surgery followed by radiation or chemioradiation between Decembre 2017 to December 2022 at San Raffaele Hospital will be enrolled in this study. The first aim of the study is to understand potential predictors of the occurrence of overall acute toxicity following adjuvant treatment in locally-advanced head and neck cancers submitted to upfront surgery with flap reconstruction. By analyzing patient data and treatment variables, the study aims at identifying factors that may influence the incidence and severity of acute treatment-related toxicities, such as mucositis, dysphagia, xerostomia and dermatitis. The second aim of the study is to evaluate whether the same variables may influence the viability and integrity of the flap at the end of the adjuvant treatment.
Interventions
PROCEDUREadjuvant tomotherapy +- chemotherapy after the reconstructive surgery with flaps
adjuvant treatment in locally-advanced head and neck cancers submitted to upfront surgery with flap reconstruction, evaluation of toxicity and flap status performed at San Raffaele Hospital between December 2017-December 2022.
Sponsors
IRCCS San Raffaele
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
RETROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* locally advanced head and neck cancer squamocellular carcinoma * treated with post operative radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy * surgical resected with flap reconstruction
Exclusion criteria
* salvage surgery after primary relapse * previously irradiated * recurrent/metastatic
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation of acute toxicity post adjuvant treatment of tomotherapy +- chemotherapy after the reconstructive surgery with flaps | End of treatment course (up to 6 months) | Acute toxicity post adjuvant treatment of tomotherapy +- chemotherapy after the reconstructive surgery with flaps will be measured according to Standard Common Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v5, thus graded as low (G0-1) versus relevant (G2 or more). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation of the flap status at the end of the adjuvant treatment course of tomotherapy +- chemotherapy after the reconstructive surgery with flaps | End of treatment course (up to 6 months) | Flap status will be categorized as Healthy (a successful reconstruction with good blood supply, intact tissue viability, and absence of complications) versus Damaged (complications such as partial or total flap loss, flap necrosis, and wound dehiscence, managed with either conservative procedures or revision surgery). |
Contacts
Primary ContactAurora Mirabile, MD
Outcome results
None listed