Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32734851›Full record

SynthesisTechnology in cancer research & treatment

The Changes in Pharyngeal Constrictor Muscles Related to Head and Neck Radiotherapy: A Systematic Review.

Jakub Grepl, Igor Sirak, Milan Vosmik, Ales Tichy

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Technology in cancer research & treatment. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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  7. Quality evaluation of synthetic CT using a gamma analysis for prostate cancer MR-only radiotherapy.Reports of practical oncology and radiotherapy : journal of Greatpoland Cancer Center in Poznan and Polish Society of Radiation Oncology · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
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  11. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jakub GreplDepartment of Oncology and Radiotherapy, University Hospital, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.ORCID 0000-0002-8262-5703
Igor SirakDepartment of Oncology and Radiotherapy, University Hospital, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
Milan VosmikDepartment of Oncology and Radiotherapy, University Hospital, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
Ales TichyDepartment of Radiobiology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences, Hradec Kralove, University of Defence, Brno, Czech Republic.
University Hospital Hradec Králové · CZUniversity of Defence · CZ

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It is well known that radiation damage of the pharyngeal constrictor muscles, the glottic larynx, and the supraglottic larynx may lead to dysphagia, an unwanted effect of head and neck radiotherapy. The reduction of radiotherapy-induced dysphagia might be achieved by adaptive radiotherapy. Although the number of studies concerning adaptive radiotherapy of head and neck cancer is continuously increasing, there are only a few studies concerning changes in dysphagia-related structures during radiotherapy.The goal of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about volumetric, dosimetric, and other changes of the pharyngeal constrictor muscles associated with head and neck radiotherapy. A literature search was performed in the MEDLINE database according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The conclusions of 8 studies that passed the criteria indicate a significant increase in the volume and the thickness of the pharyngeal constrictor muscles during radiotherapy. Moreover, the changes in magnetic resonance imaging signal intensity of the pharyngeal constrictor muscles correlate with the absorbed dose (typically higher than 50 Gy) and also with the grade of dysphagia. This systematic review presents 2 variables, which are suitable for estimation of radiotherapy-related pharyngeal constrictor muscles changes-magnetic resonance imaging signal intensity and the thickness. In the case of the thickness, there is no consensus in the level of the measurement-C2 vertebra, C3 vertebra, and the middle of the craniocaudal axis are used. It seems that reference to a position associated with a vertebral body could be more reproducible and beneficial for future research. Although late pharyngeal toxicity remains a challenge in head and neck cancer treatment, better knowledge of radiotherapy-related changes in the pharyngeal constrictor muscles contributes to adaptive radiotherapy development and thus improves the treatment results.

Indexed as

Organs at RiskDeglutition DisordersHead and Neck NeoplasmsHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingPharyngeal MusclesRadiotherapy DosageTomography, X-Ray Computeddysphagiahead and neck cancerpharyngeal constrictorspharyngeal musclesradiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID32734851
PMCPMC7406920
OpenAlexW3046634407

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.