Does feeding tube placement predict for long-term swallowing disability after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer?
✍ Scribed by Majid O. F. Al-Othman; Robert J. Amdur; Christopher G. Morris; Russell W. Hinerman; William M. Mendenhall
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2003
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 95 KB
- Volume
- 25
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1043-3074
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Purpose:
To evaluate feeding tube use.
Materials and methods:
Nine hundred thirty-four patients were treated with radiotherapy (rt).
Results:
Feeding tubes were placed in 235 patients (25%): 212 patients (22.5%) for acute toxicity, 18 patients (2%) for late effects, and 5 patients (0.5%) for both. median duration of tube dependence for acute toxicity was 3.8 months. multivariate analysis revealed that feeding tube placement for acute toxicity was increased with higher rt dose (p <.0001), adjuvant chemotherapy (p =.0002), advanced age (p =.0002), and the presence of neck disease (p =.0045). the risk of a feeding tube for late effects was 2% at 5 years. the likelihood of feeding tube placement for late effects was greater for women (p =.0293), higher rt dose (p =.0345), and primary sites, including the hypopharynx and multiple synchronous primary tumors (p =.0360). feeding tube placement for late effects was unrelated to tube placement for acute toxicity.
Conclusion:
Likelihood of long-term feeding tube dependence was low and unrelated to placement for acute effects.