Comparison between chemoradiotherapy and bioradiotherapy after induction chemotherapy in head and neck cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the completion rate and the toxicity of chemoradiotherapy with CDDP (CDDP-RT)and bioradiotherapy with cetuximab (BRT) following induction chemotherapy (ICT) in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-SCCHN). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study includes 22 patients with ICT followed by CDDP-RT and 18 patients with cetuximab-RT at our hospital from April 2009 to December 2014. We compared CDDP-RT and cetuximab-RT in terms of the ratio of adverse events (CTCAE ver. 4), nutrition support, and treatment compliance. Results: Treatment compliance was better in cetuximab-RT than CDDP-RT. The adverse events of neutro-penia, anemia and creatinine increase were almost equal between CDDP-RT and cetuximab-RT. Acute mucosi-tis, dermatitis and dysphagia were more frequent in cetuximab-RT. Dysphagia tended to be more prolonged in cetuximab-RT than CDDP-RT. Conclusion: In terms of compliance, cetuximab-RT seems to be more suitable after induction chemotherapy. However, cetuximab-RT causes more severe mucositis and dysphagia, which warrants good support.