A retrospective study of reirradiation for patients with locoregional recurrent head and neck cancer: A single-institution experience

Aim: To assess the efficacy of reirradiation in locoregionally recurrent head and neck cancer (HNC) and to describe results in our center in relation to other published data among similar group of patients. Methods: The medical records of 28 patients with HNC who received reirradiation with or without chemotherapy for loco-regional recurrence between 2005 and 2013 were reviewed. They were evaluated for; toxicity profile, overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). Results: The median reirradiation dose was 50 Gy (range 40-60 Gy) and median radiation cumulative dose was 119 (range 113 -120). An overall response rate was seen in 36% of patients with only 3 patients showed complete response. The median OS was 9 months with 1-and 2-year survival rates being 34.1% and 10.6%. The OS and PFS were significantly better in patients who were treated with chemotherapy concomitant with radiation and received higher radiation dose. Grade 3 mucositis and skin reactions were seen in 24 % and 14% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Reirradiation appears to be feasible in patients with recurrent HNC treated previously with radiation. The benefit of concurrent chemotherapy with reirradiation is expected. Our results are subject to limitations from the retrospective nature of the analysis, the relatively small number, and improper selection of patients.