Patients with head and neck cancer are usually treated with radiation therapy, surgery or both combined, and chemotherapy may be used as an additional treatment. A newer, more sophisticated radiation therapy technology, called intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has shown that it can improve the patient’s quality of life.
IMRT is an advanced mode of radiation that delivers precise radiation doses to malignant tumors or specific areas within the tumor. This high level of precision allows physicians to treat only the areas in the body that are affected by the cancer and protects the surrounding normal healthy tissues.
On Jan. 26 UC Davis researchers presented a new IMRT study, the first of its kind that measured the long-term quality of life in patients who received radiation therapy for advanced cancers of the throat, tongue, vocal cords and other head and neck structures. The study found that by using IMRT patients experienced fewer long-term side effects. Standard radiation therapy can affect the patient’s ability to produce saliva, taste or even their ability to chew their food, and may result in permanent disability.
Physicians are now able to deliver higher, more effective doses of radiation to the tumor, with lower doses to the surrounding healthy tissues, thus reducing the side effects. Of the 155 patients in the UC Davis study 54 percent were treated with IMRT and 46 percent with standard therapy. After one year the patient’s were surveyed and 51 percent of the IMRT patients rated their quality of life as very good or outstanding compared to 41 percent of the non-IMRT patients. Significant change was noted two years later when the same groups were surveyed and 73 percent of the IMRT patients rated their quality of life as very good or outstanding and only 43 percent of the non-IMRT patients had achieved this result.
While quality of life is subjective in nature and often difficult to measure, the UC Davis study supports the use of IMRT as the treatment of choice for patients who desire a better long-term quality of life. Cancer patients can inquire about this form of radiation therapy when they are referred a radiation oncologist for treatment of their cancer. IMRT may be used for other types of cancer as well.
For more information and resources on cancer patients' quality of life, click here.
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