Observational studyStrahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]2021
Parotid sparing and quality of life in long-term survivors of locally advanced head and neck cancer after intensity-modulated radiation therapy.
Observational study in Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al], 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term outcomes among individuals living with and beyond head and neck cancer: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Assessing Long-Term Quality of Life Concerns Through Survivorship Clinic in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
- An analysis of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents after parotidectomy based on patient-reported outcomes.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2024Article
- Abnormal visual and olfactory sensations during radiation therapy: a prospective study.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2023Article
- Cost effectiveness and health-related quality of life of chemoradiotherapy versus radiation therapy alone in elderly head and neck cancer patients.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2022Article
- Clinical performance evaluation of O-Ring Halcyon Linac: A real-world study.World journal of clinical cases · 2022Article
- Organs-at-risk dose constraints in head and neck intensity-modulated radiation therapy using a dataset from a multi-institutional clinical trial (JCOG1015A1).Radiation oncology (London, England) · 2022Article
- Experiences and perceptions of social eating for patients living with and beyond head and neck cancer: a qualitative study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Article
- Mechanism, Prevention, and Treatment of Radiation-Induced Salivary Gland Injury Related to Oxidative Stress.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Reduction of Elective Radiotherapy Treatment Volume in Definitive Treatment of Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer-Comparison of a Prospective Trial with a Revised Simulated Contouring Approach.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Impact of Educational Guidelines on Radiotherapy Side Effects and Lifestyle in Patients With Advanced Head and Neck Cancer.SAGE open nursingArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeIntensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) enables radiation oncologists to optimally spare organs at risk while achieving homogeneous dose distribution in the target volume. Despite great advances in technology, xerostomia is one of the most detrimental long-term side effects after multimodal therapy in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC). This prospective observational study examines the effect of parotid sparing on quality of life in long-term survivors. PATIENTS AND
methodsA total of 138 patients were grouped into unilateral (n = 75) and bilateral (n = 63) parotid sparing IMRT and questioned at 3, 24, and 60-month follow-up using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires. Treatment-related toxicity was scored according to the RTOG/EORTC toxicity criteria. Patients' QoL 24 and 60 months after IMRT was analyzed by ANCOVA using baseline QoL (3 months after IMRT) as a covariate.
resultsPatients with bilateral and unilateral parotid-sparing IMRT surviving 60 months experience similar acute and late side effects and similar changes in QoL. Three months after IMRT, physical and emotional function as well as fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain, dyspnea, and financial problems are below (function scales) or above (symptom scales) the threshold of clinical importance. In both groups, symptom burden (EORTC H&N35) is high independent of parotid sparing 3 months after IMRT and decreases over time in a similar pattern. Pain and financial function remain burdensome throughout.
conclusionLong-term HNC survivors show a similar treatment-related toxicity profile independent of unilateral vs. bilateral parotid-sparing IMRT. Sparing one or both parotids had no effect on global QoL nor on the magnitude of changes in function and symptom scales over the observation period of 60 months. The financial impact of the disease and its detrimental effect on long-term QoL pose an additional risk to unmet needs in this special patient population. These results suggest that long-term survivors need and most likely will benefit from early medical intervention and support within survivorship programs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.