Outcomes of laser thermal therapy for recurrent head and neck cancer

Author(s)

Sercarz, Joel A. ^[1] ; Bublik, Michael ^[2] ; Joo, Jayne ^[1] ; Paiva, Paulo B. ^[3] ; Areco, Kelsy N. ^[3] ; Brandalise, Maria Helena ^[4] ; Loh, Christopher ^[5] ; Masterman-Smith, Michael ^[1] ; Paiva, Marcos B. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Calif Los Angeles, David Geffen Sch Med, Dept Surg, Div Head & Neck Surg, Los Angeles, CA 90095 - USA

^[2] Univ Miami, Dept Otolaryngol Head & Neck Surg, Miami, FL - USA

^[3] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Hlth Informat Dept, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Calif Los Angeles, David Geffen Sch Med, Dept Radiol Sci, Los Angeles, CA 90095 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: OTOLARYNGOLOGY-HEAD AND NECK SURGERY; v. 142, n. 3, p. 344-350, MAR 2010.
• Web of Science Citations: 13

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To review the outcomes of a phase II study using laser-induced thermal therapy (LIFT) as a palliative treatment for 106 patients with recurrent head and neck tumors. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Tertiary hospital in the United States. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The primary endpoints were tumor response and survival. Prognostic values were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The best results were seen in oral cavity tumors, in which mean survival was 29.1 months, as compared to neck tumors (mean 14.4 +/- 6.9 months; range 7.5-20.7 months; with a 95% confidence interval). Further analysis showed that clinical factors such as gender, smoking, and alcohol use were not indicators of poor prognosis, whereas neck disease and tumor stage at first treatment were relevant factors. CONCLUSION: In this study, 40 out of 106 patients treated by LITT remained alive at the end of our follow-up, and a complete response was seen in 24 (22.6%) patients. The highest response rate was seen in oral cavity tumors, which suggests that tumor location at this site may be a predictor of favorable outcome with LITT. (c) 2010 American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/54714-6 - Combination of cisplatin and laser thermal therapy for head and neck cancer
• Grantee: Marcos Bandiera Paiva
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants