Dose Escalation Versus Standard in Laryngopharyngeal Cancers

Patients with locally advanced Laryngeal, Hypopharyngeal (LH) or oropharyngeal (OPC) head and neck squamous cell carcinomas have 5 year survival ranging between 25-45%. 60% of all LH cancers occur in the developing world and its incidence in India ranges from 1.8-8.8 per 1,00,000 population .

Local control outcomes of OPC patients with stage III and IV OPC has been modest with reported loco-regional control rates of 50-60% at 5 years. For patients with locally advanced LH a 60-70% 2 year survival is seen and loco-regional control rates of 70% have been reported . Majority of locally advanced OPC and LH cancers are treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CRT) with organ and function preserving approach.

Identifying the area of tumour involvement in the OPC and LH could be challenging on CECT scans, requiring metabolic imaging with PET-CT for more precise definition of radiation target.

Improvements in radiation treatment delivery techniques have enabled clinicians to explore the possibility of improving tumour control probability (TCP) and reduce normal tissue complication probability . This allows us to explore the role of escalating dose in the above group of patients to assess the safety and efficacy of the regime.

Tumours treated in the standard dose arm will receive radiotherapy @ 220 cGy per fraction for 30 fractions whilst those in the escalated dose arm will receive @ 245 cGy per fraction for 30 fractions using IMRT techniques. Patients in both arms will receive weekly platinum based chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy.

LH Inclusion Criteria ALL of the following inclusion criteria must be met

• Histologically confirmed squamous cell cancer of the larynx or hypopharynx
• Radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy as primary therapy
• Induction chemotherapy is permitted
• TNM Stage T3-4, N0-3, M0 or T1/2 with N2-3 disease (Stage III or IV a/b) disease
• WHO performance status of 0 or 1
• Creatinine clearance of more than 50ml/min
• All patients must be suitable to attend regular follow up

OPC inclusion criteria ALL of the following inclusion criteria must be met

• Histologically confirmed squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx
• Radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy as primary therapy
• Induction chemotherapy is permitted
• WHO performance status of 0 or 1
• Creatinine clearance of more than 50ml/min
• All patients must be suitable to attend regular follow up
• And any of the stage of disease as seen below HPV (p16) negative: TNM Stage T2-T4, any N stage, M0 disease HPV (p16) Positive: more than 10 pack year history and N2b or N3 disease

LH Exclusion Criteria The patient is ineligible if ANYONE of the following exclusion criteria is met

• Previous radiotherapy to the head and neck region
• Previous malignancy except non-melanoma skin cancer and early stage cancer in remission for at least 5 years following treatment
• Previous or concurrent illness, which in the investigator's opinion would interfere with either completion of therapy or follow-up
• Pre-existing previous speech or swallowing problems unrelated to the diagnosis of cancer
• Patients with locally advanced LH tumours where organ preservation is unrealistic
• Patients with metastatic carcinoma

OPC Exclusion Criteria The patient is ineligible if ANYONE of the following exclusion criteria is met

• Previous radiotherapy to the head and neck region
• Previous malignancy except non-melanoma skin cancer and early stage cancer in remission for at least 5 years following treatment
• Previous or concurrent illness, which in the investigator's opinion would interfere with either completion of therapy or follow-up
• Pre-existing previous speech or swallowing problems unrelated to the diagnosis of cancer
• Patients with locally advanced LH or OPC tumours where organ preservation is unrealistic
• Patients with metastatic carcinoma
• Low risk OPC: HPV p16 positive T1-2 with N0-N2a disease or less than 10 pack year history