Brachytherapy for tongue cancer in the very elderly is an alternative to external beam radiation

Radiation doses of medical radiation workers performing low-dose-rate brachytherapy with 198Au grains and 192Ir pins for patients with oral cancers

OBJECTIVES

Low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) with 198Au grains and 192Ir pins is an essential treatment option for oral cancer due to its high rate of local control and low invasiveness. However, the radiation exposure of medical radiation workers is concerning. Thus, we aimed to determine the radiation dose delivered to medical radiation workers during LDR-BT using 198Au grains and 192Ir pins for oral cancer.

METHODS

Thirty-two patients with oral cancer underwent 198Au grain interstitial LDR-BT between June 2016 and May 2023, and 23 patients with tongue cancer underwent 192Ir pin interstitial LDR-BT between March 2015 and November 2017 at our hospital. Dosimetry was performed by attaching a dosimeter to the chest pocket of the operator and assistant during 198Au grain or 192Ir pin LDR-BT. Since the operator also loads 198Au grains into the implantation device, the operator's radiation dose includes the dose received during this preparation.

RESULTS

Mean radiation doses of the operators with 198Au grain and 192Ir pin LDR-BT were 165.8 and 211.2 μSv, respectively. Statistically significant differences between the radioactive sources of 198Au grain and 192Ir pin LDR-BT were observed (p = 0.0459). The mean radiation doses of the assistants with 198Au grain and 192Ir pin LDR-BT were 92.0 and 162.0 μSv, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed between the radioactive sources of 198Au grains and 192Ir pin LDR-BT (p = 0.0003).

CONCLUSIONS

Regarding radioactive source differences, 192Ir pin LDR-BT resulted in higher doses delivered to medical radiation workers than 198Au grain LDR-BT.

Topical photodynamic therapy for brachytherapy-induced oral mucositis

In recent years, radioactive iodine-125 seed implantation has emerged as an effective treatment approach for locally advanced oral cancer. Nevertheless, some brachytherapy associated side reactions were reported, even at a relatively low initial radiation treatment volume. Radiogenic oral mucositis has been one of the most concerning side effects of this treatment method. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is nowadays confirmed as a viable therapeutic strategy of oral mucositis. Herein, we report a case of 73-year-old male patient with ventral tongue and floor-of-the mouth cancer treated by iodine-125 implantation. Thereafter, this patient experienced radiation-induced oral mucositis. After being treated with four sessions of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) PDT, this case was completely cured and followed up for 6-month with no recurrence.

Facial-submental island flap for reconstruction of hemitongue defects in young, middle-aged and elderly patients with early and middle stage oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

This study evaluated the outcomes of facial-submental artery island flap (FSAIF) for reconstruction of the hemitongue following cancer ablation in patients with early and middle-stage oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC).

METHODS

In total, 122 patients with early and middle-stage OTSCC were divided into young, middle-aged, and elderly groups. The Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27 (ACE-27) index was used to determine the presence of comorbidities. The patients underwent surgical treatment with hemiglossectomy, neck dissection, and hemitongue reconstruction using FSAIF. In addition, stage I (n = 15) and II (n = 69) patients underwent ipsilateral selective neck dissection, whereas those with stage III (n = 38) underwent radical neck dissection. Six patients with T3N1 disease also underwent cobalt-60 adjuvant radiotherapy.

RESULTS

Young and elderly patients exhibited significant differences in comorbidities, as assessed by the ACE-27 (p < .05). The skin paddles in the young, middle-aged, and elderly patients were 3 × 9 to 4 × 12 cm, 3 × 11 to 4 × 12, and 3 ×  10 to 5 × 13 cm in size, respectively. FSAIF failure occurred in four patients (success rate: 96.7%). No significant differences were observed in the skin paddle of the flap or rate of flap failure among the age groups (p > .05). Clavien-Dindo grades I, II, IIIa, IIIb, Iva, and IVb were assigned to 7.1, 36.1, 38.5, 9.8, 4.1, and 4.1% of the patients, respectively, with significant differences seen between the young and elderly patients (p < .05). In total, 52.5% of patients could eat normally, whereas 32.8% required a soft diet. Furthermore, 53.3 and 33.6% of patients achieved normal and intelligible speech, respectively. The aesthetic results were rated as excellent and good in 32.8 and 58.2% of patients, respectively. In total, 68.0% of the patients were alive and exhibited no evidence of disease, while 19.7% were alive with active disease. In addition, 12.3% of patients with stage III OTSCC died due to local recurrence or distant metastases. No differences in swallowing, speech, aesthetic, or survival outcomes were observed among the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

FSAIF is a simple, safe, and reliable method for reconstructing hemitongue defects following cancer ablation in young, middle-aged, and elderly patients with early and middle-stage OTSCC.

Retrograde Migration of an Au-198 Grain to the Submandibular Gland Post Brachytherapy Treatment of Floor of Mouth Cancer

At our institution, radiation oncologists routinely treat early-stage oral cancer with low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BRT) using Au-198 grains. In this report, we show a unique case of a patient with a gold grain located within the submandibular gland, found incidentally during follow-up after LDR-BRT for floor of mouth cancer. One month after the implant, he showed sialadenitis-like symptoms, but the pain resolved two months later. All the grains were detected around the anterior sublingual area by computed tomography (CT) four months after the implant. Unexpectedly, 11 months after the implant, CT revealed that a grain was located in an intraglandular site of the submandibular gland. This finding clearly demonstrates that the grain entered Wharton's duct and retrogradely migrated to the submandibular gland through the duct. As a mechanism of the calculus formation within Wharton's duct, retrograde migration of foreign bodies to the inside of the duct has been proposed. Our incidental finding after LDR-BRT highlights the need for monitoring post-LDR-BRT using Au-198 grains for the treatment of floor of mouth cancer and sheds additional light on retrograde theory within Wharton's duct.

Treatment outcomes of real-time intraoral sonography-guided implantation technique of 198Au grain brachytherapy for T1 and T2 tongue cancer

It is often challenging to determine the accurate size and shape of oral lesions through computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) when they are very small or obscured by metallic artifacts, such as dental prostheses. Intraoral ultrasonography (IUS) has been shown to be beneficial in obtaining precise information about total tumor extension, as well as the exact location and guiding the insertion of catheters during interstitial brachytherapy. We evaluated the role of IUS in assessing the clinical outcomes of interstitial brachytherapy with 198Au grains in tongue cancer through a retrospective medical chart review. The data from 45 patients with T1 (n = 21) and T2 (n = 24) tongue cancer, who were mainly treated with 198Au grain implants between January 2005 and April 2019, were included in this study. 198Au grain implantations were carried out, and positioning of the implants was confirmed by IUS, to ensure that 198Au grains were appropriately placed for the deep border of the tongue lesion. The five-year local control rates of T1 and T2 tongue cancers were 95.2% and 95.5%, respectively. We propose that the use of IUS to identify the extent of lesions and the position of implanted grains is effective when performing brachytherapy with 198Au grains.

Brachytherapy with 198Au grains for cancer of the floor of the mouth: relationships between radiation dose and complications

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the radiation dose and complications in soft tissue and mandible caused by ¹⁹⁸Au grain brachytherapy alone or the combination with other modalities in patients with the cancer of the floor of the mouth.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twelve patients with T1 (n = 5) and T2 (n = 7) squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth, who were treated with ¹⁹⁸Au grain brachytherapy alone (n = 5) or the combination of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and/or chemotherapy and ¹⁹⁸Au grain brachytherapy (n = 7) from January 2005 to December 2016, were included. The relationships between the radiation dose and the complications of the soft tissue or mandible were investigated.

RESULTS

Seven of 12 patients had died. Of these 7 patients, one with T1 and 2 with T2 had died of the causes related to the cancer of the floor of the mouth. Two with T1 and 2 with T2 had died of other diseases. Two patients had grade 2 complications of the soft tissue and mandible. These patients were treated by the combination of EBRT and/or chemotherapy and ¹⁹⁸Au grain brachytherapy and irradiated with 123 or 139 Gy in total dose, respectively. And one of these patients was treated by the chemotherapy in addition to EBRT.

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that the combination of EBRT and ¹⁹⁸Au grains brachytherapy for the floor of the mouth cancer patients might be associated with risks of developing complications of soft tissue ulcer and mandibular bone necrosis.

Brachytherapy of the head and neck: An University of California Los Angeles guide to morbidity reduction

The head and neck (H&N) region is among the most intricate and functional part of our anatomy. Major functional nerves and blood vessels with importance that affect the entire body emanate from the base of skull. Brachytherapy plays an important role as a single modality therapy in early cancer of the lip and oral cavity and a supplemental role in the pharynx or in advanced or recurrent disease. Morbidity in the H&N is intensely personal and disabling. Its avoidance is critical in determining the success or failure of a treatment program, and it is essential to preservation of quality of life. This article summarizes the current literature regarding morbidity related to H&N brachytherapy to aid patients and physicians to achieve optimal outcomes.

Brachytherapy of tongue carcinoma in a patient with difficult airway: anesthetic considerations

The practice of brachytherapy in unresectable tongue carcinoma is gaining popularity. However, this procedure poses specific anesthetic challenges, particularly challenges of airway sharing and a higher rate of difficult airway. We report a 74-year-old chronic smoker, chronic alcoholic with history of stroke, who had undergone brachytherapy for tongue carcinoma. Apart from a huge tongue tumor, he had an epiglottic mass but refused elective tracheostomy. This had led to a few critical states throughout the process of treatment, including a metabolic crisis due to thiamine deficiency and difficult airway crisis. To our best knowledge, there have been no reported case on a patient with vocal cord mass undergoing tongue brachytherapy. We hope sharing of this experience may aid the management of similar patients in future.

Age Is Not a Limiting Factor in Interventional Radiotherapy (Brachytherapy) for Patients with Localized Cancer

This review examines the role of interventional radiotherapy (IRT otherwise known as brachytherapy) in cancer treatment for elderly patients. Despite their advanced age and associated comorbidities, elderly patients should receive definitive cancer therapies, including surgery and radiotherapy (RT). In fact, RT becomes first-line option for patients who are not eligible for surgery (due to comorbidities, anticoagulant drugs, and risk of disfigurement) or those who refuse it. It emerged from this review of the literature as effective, simple, safe, and comfortable and was associated with good local control, low toxicity rates, and excellent cosmesis and provided a cost benefit. IRT may be used as sole treatment for small cancers or as a useful adjunct to surgery or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in more advanced (or lymph node positive) cases, especially when the aim is local control with adequate preservation of normal tissue function. As palliative treatment, IRT preserves quality of life and/or improves survival. It is to be hoped that this review will serve as a helpful guide for members of multidisciplinary teams that are involved in treating elderly patients with cancer.

Adjuvant high-dose-rate brachytherapy in the management of oral cavity cancers: 5 years of experience in Iran

Purpose

Brachytherapy is a cost-effective method for the management of oral cavity cancers in low to middle income countries. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy (HDR-IBT) in patients with oral cavity cancer.

Material and methods

From 2009 to 2013, 78 patients (49 combined external beam radiotherapy [EBRT] plus IBT and 29 IBT monotherapy) with oral cavity cancers had been treated in our center. Slightly more than half the patients were male, and the median age was 54 years. The treatment was planned based on the Paris system. The main outcomes were disease-free and overall survival.

Results

The median follow-up duration was 36.5 months (range, 1.17-54.23). The actuarial four-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 83% and 65%, respectively. The local and locoregional control was achieved among 89.74% and 87.17% of patients, respectively. None of the factors including tumor size, node status, gender, and radiation modality (IBT alone vs. IBT + EBRT) had a significant statistical correlation to the local control rate. All the patients tolerated the planned treatment in the IBT alone group. Late complications included a case of trismus and three cases of catheter insertion site fibrosis.

Conclusions

HDR-IBT as a monotherapy or in combination with EBRT is an appropriate option for the management of oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas, and supports the improvement in treatment outcomes and toxicity profiles in adjuvant settings.

High-dose-rate brachytherapy using molds for lip and oral cavity tumors

Background

High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy using the mold technique is a less invasive treatment for early lip and oral cavity cancer. However, limited reports exist regarding the feasibility of this method. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the outcome of this therapy and investigated its feasibility for lip and oral cavity tumors.

Methods

Between May 2002 and December 2010, 17 patients (median age, 80.0 years) with histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the lip or oral cavity were treated by means of HDR brachytherapy using the mold technique after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Tumor sites included the buccal mucosa in eight cases, the gingiva in three cases, the lips in two cases, the floor of the mouth in two cases, and the hard palate in two cases. For all patients, EBRT (30 Gy/15 fractions), was performed before HDR brachytherapy. Two 6-Gy fractions were delivered twice daily for 2 days a week with an interval of 6 hours between the fractions. The total HDR brachytherapy dose was 24 Gy. Prior to EBRT, two patients with neck metastasis underwent neck dissection, and one patient with an exophytic tumor underwent tumor resection.

Results

The median follow-up period was 53.4 (range, 4.8–83.4) months. Of the 17 patients, 14 (82.4%) achieved a complete response, and three (17.6%) displayed a partial response.

The overall 3- and 5-year survival rates were both 68.8%, the 3- and 5-year disease-specific survival rates were both 86.7%, and the 3- and 5-year local control rates were both 54.1%. Seven patients developed local recurrence at a median time of 3.4 (range, 1.7–29.1) months after treatment. Nodal and lung metastases occurred separately in two patients. By the end of the follow-up period, two patients had died of the primary disease and four patients had died of other causes.

Conclusions

Although there is a need to improve the technical aspects of the treatment protocol, HDR brachytherapy using the mold technique might be a therapeutic option for superficial lip or oral cavity tumors, especially in older patients who have a poor performance status or are in poor physical condition.

198Au grain implantation for early tongue cancer in patients of advanced age or poor performance status

Brachytherapy using (198)Au grains is minimally invasive and the only curative treatment for early tongue cancer in patients of advanced age or poor performance status available in our institution. From March 1993 to February 2008, (198)Au grains were used to treat a group of 96 Stage I-II tongue cancer patients who could not undergo surgery or brachytherapy using (192)Ir pins because of an advanced age (≥75 years) or poor performance status (≥2). The patients were followed for 3.9 ± 3.3 years, and the cause-specific survival and local control rates were determined. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the Cox proportional hazard model. The results were compared with those for a group of 193 early tongue-cancer patients who underwent treatment using iridium pins. The 5-year cause-specific survival and local control rates of the (198)Au grains group were 71% and 68%, respectively, both of which were 16% lower than the corresponding rates for the (192)Ir pins group. Our study demonstrated that as the last curative treatment available, (198)Au grain implantation could be used to achieve moderate treatment results for early tongue cancer in patients of advanced age or poor performance status.

Adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified on dorsum of tongue: case report and literature review

Primary adenocarcinoma of the oropharynx most often arises from the minor salivary glands, and primary squamous cell carcinoma is more commonly seen arising from the tongue. Few cases of adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified of the tongue have been reported in the literature, and none found on the dorsum of the tongue. Successful treatment strategies have therefore not been defined.We report a case of adenocarcinoma located on the dorsum of the posterior one third of the tongue adjacent to the circumvallate papillae in a woman presenting with globus sensation and mild dysphagia. Treatment consisted of transoral laser excision and postoperative external-beam radiotherapy, resulting in disease-free survival at her 5-year follow-up. The goals of this report are to present a case of adenocarcinoma arising from the minor salivary gland located on the dorsum of the tongue, to discuss previous reports of similar cases, and to suggest that surgery with or without radiotherapy be used as the mainstay of treatment.

The Hannover experience: surgical treatment of tongue cancer--a clinical retrospective evaluation over a 30 years period

Objectives

In this retrospective study, we present a clinical review of our experience with tongue cancer in order to obtain valid criteria for therapeutic decision-making.

Materials and methods

Between 1980 and 2009, a total of 341 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue were treated at our Department. The average follow-up was 5.2 years. 309 patients received surgical treatment, which was combined in nearly 10% with neoadjuvant and in nearly 20% with postoperative radio(chemo)therapy. 32 patients were excluded from surgery and received primary radiation.

Results

Local and regional failure occurred in 23.9% and 20.4%, leading to a total failure rate of 37.2% after an average duration of 1,6 years. N-Status, extracapsular spread and clear margins were identified as the dominant factors for survival, which was calculated with 54.5% after 5 years.

Conclusions

We recommend categorical bilateral neck dissection in order to reliably remove occult lymph node metastases. Adjuvant treatment modalities should be applied more frequently in controlled clinical trials and should generally be implemented in cases with unclear margins and lymphatic spread.

Clinical relevance

This study provides new treatment strategies for primary tumour disease and for tumour recurrence.