Image-guided interstitial high-dose-rate brachytherapy in the treatment of inoperable recurrent head and neck malignancies: An effective option of reirradiation.

BACKGROUND

In recurrent head and neck cancer, therapeutic options are limited and high-quality evidence is rare. The purpose of this report was to present our experience of CT-guided interstitial high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy in 4 challenging cases of inoperable recurrent head and neck cancer.

METHODS

A 53-year-old man with mucosal melanoma of the paranasal sinuses, a 61-year-old man with myofibroblastic sarcoma of the nasal cavity, a 51-year-old woman with nasopharyngeal cancer, and a 44-year-old woman with orbital leiomyosarcoma were treated with reirradiation by HDR brachytherapy after previous comprehensive therapy, including full course external radiotherapy (RT).

RESULTS

All patients showed response to brachytherapy with 1 patient experiencing locoregional failure. The mean lesion-specific disease control was 15 months. Currently, 1 patient is alive and 3 patients died after mean 20 months after treatment.

CONCLUSION

In patients with inoperable recurrent head and neck cancer, CT-guided interstitial HDR brachytherapy can play a role in providing palliation and tumor control. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: E61-E68, 2017.