“Side effects with dose-reduced treatment were dramatically less than what we usually see in treatment of adjuvant radiation therapy for oropharynx cancer. For example, no patients in this trial needed a feeding tube placed, whereas close to a third of patients had feeding tubes placed with traditional doses on other recent clinical trials,” explained Dr. Ma.

“The shorter course of treatment also has practical value for patients. If a patient has 20 twice-daily sessions instead of 30 daily treatment sessions, their financial cost is reduced by a third, and time away from work or family is reduced by a third—but the likelihood of cure remains the same.”


While the results are promising, Dr. Ma emphasized that findings from a randomized study directly comparing the dose-reduced treatment with traditional treatment are needed before the new approach can be adopted widely.

“These results will require confirmation in a randomized trial, and this treatment approach should be considered investigational until confirmed in a phase III study, such as the ongoing multi-institutional DART-HPV trial that is currently open for patient accrual,” he said.

The abstract, “Two-year results for MC1273, a phase II evaluation of aggressive dose de-escalation for adjuvant chemoradiation in HPV+ oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC),” will be presented in detail during a news briefing and the late-breaking abstracts special session at ASTRO’s 59th Annual Meeting in San Diego (full details below). To schedule an interview with Dr. Ma and/or outside experts in head and neck cancer, contact ASTRO’s media relations team on-site at the San Diego Convention Center September 24 through 27, by phone at 703-286-1600 or by email.

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ATTRIBUTION TO THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY (ASTRO) ANNUAL MEETING REQUESTED IN ALL COVERAGE.
This news release contains additional and/or updated information from the study author(s). Full original abstract and author disclosures available via email or at www.astro.org/annualmeeting.

Study Presentation Details

News Briefing: Monday, September 25, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific time, San Diego Convention Center, room 24C, webcast: http://www.bit.do/astro17-2
Scientific Session: Tuesday, September 26, 7:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Pacific time, San Diego Convention Center, room 5A
Resources on Head and Neck Cancer and Radiation Therapy

Digital brochure: Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer
Videos: Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer (Spanish version), An Introduction to Radiation Therapy (Spanish version)

Rad Oncology Homepage