Patterns of care and outcomes of adjuvant therapy for high-risk head and neck cancer after surgery.

Postoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is considered standard of care in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer with positive margins and/or extracapsular extension (ECE). The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was queried to identify patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with stages III to IVB disease or with positive margins and/or ECE diagnosed between 2004 and 2012 receiving postoperative radiotherapy (RT). Using univariable and multivariable logistic and Cox regression, we assessed for predictors of CRT use and covariables impacting overall survival (OS), including in a propensity-matched subset. Of 12 224 patients, 67.1% with positive margins and/or ECE received CRT as well as 54.0% without positive margins and/or ECE. The 5-year OS was 61.6% for RT alone versus 67.4% for CRT. In the propensity-matched cohort, OS benefit persisted with CRT, including in a subset with positive margins and/or ECE but not without. Postoperative CRT seems underutilized with positive margins and/or ECE and overutilized without positive margins and/or ECE. The CRT was associated with improved OS but the benefit persisted only in the subset with positive margins and/or ECE.

Osborn VW ，Givi B ，Rineer J ，Roden D ，Sheth N ，Lederman A ，Katsoulakis E ，Hu K ，Schreiber D ... -  《-》

Adjuvant Chemoradiation After Surgical Resection in Elderly Patients With High-Risk Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: A National Cancer Database Analysis.

To determine the patterns of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy use in elderly patients treated with definitive surgical resection for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with extracapsular extension (ECE) or positive margins and determine whether an association with overall survival (OS) exists with adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The National Cancer Database was queried to identify patients with SCC of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx who were treated with primary definitive surgery and adjuvant radiation therapy between 2004 and 2012. For elderly patients (aged >70 years) with pathology revealing ECE or positive margin, the benefit of concurrent chemotherapy was explored using multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling. A total of 7349 patients were identified meeting study criteria, of whom 1187 were elderly (aged >70 years) with a median follow-up of 30.6 months. Of these elderly patients, 445 had ECE or positive margin and represent the study population, of whom 187 (42%) received CRT. Delivery of CRT in this cohort increased over the study period, and intensity modulated radiation therapy was associated with increased use of CRT (odds ratio 2.07; P=.004). Increasing age was associated with reduced use of CRT (odds ratio 0.88; P<.001). Chemoradiotherapy was associated with a significant improvement in OS on multivariable analysis (hazard ratio 0.74; P=.04) and a trend toward significance on inverse propensity score analysis (hazard ratio 0.78; P=.051). Three-year OS was 53.8% in the CRT group, compared with 44.6% in the adjuvant radiation therapy-alone patients. The use of adjuvant CRT is increasing among elderly patients with resected squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck exhibiting ECE or positive margins. Chemoradiotherapy was associated with an improvement in OS on multivariable analysis but not propensity-weighted analysis. Among fit elderly patients with ECE or positive margins after definitive surgical resection, concurrent chemotherapy can be carefully considered.

Woody NM ，Ward MC ，Koyfman SA ，Reddy CA ，Geiger J ，Joshi N ，Burkey B ，Scharpf J ，Lamarre E ，Prendes B ，Adelstein DJ ... -  《-》

Postoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer aged 70 or older with positive margins or extranodal extension and the influence of nodal classification.

Postoperative concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) improves outcomes for younger adults with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and positive margins or extranodal extension (ENE), but its benefit for older adults is not well established. Patients from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) with HNSCC undergoing curative-intent resection, neck dissection, and postoperative radiation with positive margins or ENE were identified. This analysis included 1199 patients aged ≥ 70 years with median follow-up of 42.6 months. Postoperative concurrent CRT was associated with improved overall survival (OS; hazard ratio [HR] 0.752; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.638-0.886) compared to radiation alone in multivariable analysis. Three-year OS was 52.4% with CRT versus 43.4% with radiation (P = .012) in propensity-score matched cohorts. The survival impact of CRT varied by N classification (P = .002 for interaction), with benefit seen only in those with N2 to N3 disease. Postoperative concurrent CRT may benefit older patients with HNSCC with positive margins or ENE, particularly those with higher nodal burden.

Yoshida EJ ，Luu M ，David JM ，Kim S ，Mita A ，Scher K ，Shiao SL ，Tighiouart M ，Ho AS ，Zumsteg ZS ... -  《-》

Beyond Positive Margins and Extracapsular Extension: Evaluating the Utilization and Clinical Impact of Postoperative Chemoradiotherapy in Resected Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer.

Trifiletti DM ，Smith A ，Mitra N ，Grover S ，Lukens JN ，Cohen RB ，Read P ，Mendenhall WM ，Lin A ，Swisher-McClure S ... -  《-》

Role of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in T4N0 stage IV head and neck cancer: A National Cancer Database analysis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy (surgery + adjuvant RT) versus adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (surgery + adjuvant CRT) in patients with T4N0M0, stage IV head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Between 1998 and 2011, 3518 and 885 patients were treated with surgery + adjuvant RT and surgery + adjuvant CRT, respectively. Three-year overall survival (OS) rates were determined and crude and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed. Median follow-up was 41.8 months with 2193 reported deaths. The 3-year OS was 67.5% for surgery + adjuvant RT and 70.5% for surgery + adjuvant CRT (P = .013). For negative margins, the corresponding 3-year OS was 70.1% and 74.9% (P = .005). For positive margins, the corresponding 3-year OS was 56.0% and 60.6% (P = .079). On multivariate analysis, the beneficial effect for adjuvant CRT over adjuvant RT was not significant (HR 0.90; CI 0.79-1.03; P = .124). In this cohort of patients with T4N0 HNSCC treated with surgery, there was no observed survival benefit of adjuvant CRT over adjuvant RT on multivariate analysis.

Kirke DN ，Qureshi MM ，Kamran SC ，Ezzat W ，Jalisi S ，Salama A ，Everett PC ，Truong MT ... -  《-》