Prospective evaluation of patient-reported quality-of-life outcomes following SBRT±cetuximab for locally-recurrent, previously-irradiated head and neck cancer

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) for primary and recurrent head and neck tumors

“…One hundred and fifty r-HNSCC patients were followed up following treatment with SBRT (40-50 Gy in 5 fractions) and were evaluated for PR-QoL using the University of Washington Quality-of-Life Revised (UW-QOL-R) questionnaire. 20 Our findings demonstrated that the improved local control associated with SBRT re-irradiation translated to improved PR-QoL. Moreover, these improvements in PR-QoL were evident in all measured domains of the QoL tool and were independent of tumor volume, use of cetuximab, age and interval since prior irradiation.…”

“…Moreover, these improvements in PR-QoL were evident in all measured domains of the QoL tool and were independent of tumor volume, use of cetuximab, age and interval since prior irradiation. 20 In our Phase I study, a treatment response was 76% was observed with a median follow up period of 13 months. 3 When recurrences were analyzed, failure was either within the radiation treatment field or distant as no patient was found to have failure at the boundary of the SBRT field.…”

A Prospective Phase 2 Trial of Reirradiation With Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Plus Cetuximab in Patients With Previously Irradiated Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

“…Compliance with UW-QoL (58%, with a median survey time of only 3 months) was a significant weakness of the presented study, which limits the reporting of this endpoint especially as it was not related to the time line of the end of patients' lives and QoL may be poorer among patients who do not complete surveys. However a more expanded longitudinal collection of UWQoL, which included patients treated off protocol (nonsquamous histology, varying SBRT doses, and inconsistent use of cetuximab) and a heterogeneity of patients treated on this and other protocols as a part of our prospectively maintained institutional radiosurgery database, would support that QoL is improved, or at least preserved in this setting (22).…”

Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: The Current Role of Cetuximab

“…Vargo et al [46] reported the first prospective QoL evaluation after reirradiation with stereotactic RT with and without CTX. A total of 150 patients who had previously received <40 Gy were treated with stereotactic RT at 40-50 Gy in 5 fractions with or without concomitant CTX.…”