Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40436898›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Positron emission tomography directed re-irradiation using volumetric modulated arc technique in recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Sambit S Nanda, Ankita Rungta Kapoor, Ashutosh Mukherji, Ajay Kumar Choubey, Akhil Kapoor, Ajay S Krishnan, Ninad H Patil, Aseem Mishra, Satyajit Pradhan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

9 authors.

Sambit S NandaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.
Ankita Rungta KapoorDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India. ankitarungta22@gmail.com.
Ashutosh MukherjiDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.
Ajay Kumar ChoubeyDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.
Akhil KapoorDepartment of Medical Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.
Ajay S KrishnanDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.
Ninad H PatilDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.
Aseem MishraDepartment of Head & Neck Surgery, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.
Satyajit PradhanDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malaviya Cancer Centre, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Varanasi, India.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Advancements in surgical and radiotherapy techniques have enhanced locoregional control (LRC) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), yet 30-40% of patients still experience recurrence within 2-3 years. Salvage surgery can result in significant morbidity and often fails to achieve optimal LRC as a standalone treatment. Modern radiotherapy (RT) techniques support highly conformal re-irradiation for small local recurrences with acceptable toxicity. The role of positron emission tomography (PET-CT) based contouring is under evaluation for re-irradiation settings. This retrospective study included patients treated with re-irradiation at a tertiary care center, focusing on those with prior HNSCC in the oral cavity, pharynx, or larynx, who had received radical or adjuvant RT and presented with biopsy-confirmed recurrences or second primary tumors. PET-CT was used for metastatic workup, with rigid image registration on planning CT scan employing a significant 40% SUVmax cut-off for tumor delineation. From January 2019 to June 2022, 85 patients underwent re-irradiation, with a median RT dose of 60 Gy (range: 44-66 Gy); 32 patients received concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Treatment planning used the volumetric modulated arc technique (VMAT), with the median Dmax for critical structures ranging from 7 Gy to 63 Gy. Acute grade 3 or higher mucositis, dysphagia, and odynophagia were observed in up to 23.5% of cases. At a median follow-up of 23 months, the 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 55.2% and 63.5%, respectively. These promising results support PET-CT contouring-based planning as a potential standard of care in re-irradiation.

Indexed as

Head and Neck NeoplasmsNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalPositron Emission Tomography Computed TomographyRadiotherapy, Intensity-ModulatedRe-IrradiationSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPositron-Emission TomographyRadiotherapy Planning, Computer-AssistedRetrospective StudiesHNSCCPET-CTReirradiationRPAVMAT

Identifiers

PMID40436898
PMCPMC12119818

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.