Evaluation of the Local Control Rate and Late Toxicity of High-Dose-Rate Interstitial Brachytherapy in Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Iman Amiri; Maryam Feli; Ali Bagheri; Hojattollah  Shahbazian; Fatemeh Mohammadian

doi:10.18502/jimc.v7i1.14224

Iman Amiri Department of Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Maryam Feli Department of Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Ali Bagheri Department of Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Hojattollah Shahbazian Department of Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Fatemeh Mohammadian Department of Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v7i1.14224

Keywords: Brachytherapy, Squamous cell carcinoma, Tongue cancer

Abstract

Background: Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma (TSCC) is one of the most consequential oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas (SCC) worldwide.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 29 TSCC patients treated with High Dose Rate Brachytherapy (HDR-BT) with or without External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT) between 2017-2020. Patients without distant metastasis at the time of treatment and at least one year after completion of brachytherapy were included.

Results: One-year Overall Survival (OS), Disease-Free Survival (DFS), and Local Control Rate (LCR) were 82.8, 79.3, and 100%, respectively. 6 patients (20.7%) had distant metastasis, of which 5 (17.2%) died. Local recurrence was not observed in any patients, and only one (3.4%) regional recurrence occurred. The most common late toxicity of HDR-BT was dry mouth (79.2%) and dysarthria (66.7%). There were no severe and life-threatening complications (grades 3 and 4) during one year. Also, 79.2% of the patients had good functional performance. One-year OS, the significant difference between the two groups of HDR-BT with and without EBRT (p=0.055).

Conclusion: Our findings indicated that the HDR-BT increases the OS of TSCC patients more than EBRT without developing grade 3-4 AEs and metastasis. We showed that the mean 3.2 ±0.7 Gy of HDR-BT has more OS compared to EBRT.