title: Radiation-associated carotid artery atherosclerosis: case report and review of contemporaneous literature.
abstract: Radiation therapy (RT) is a component of the treatment of patients with head and neck malignancies. This therapy may damage the nearby carotid arteries, thereby initiating or accelerating the atherosclerotic process (atheroma formation). Dentists treating patients who have been irradiated should examine the patient's panoramic radiograph for evidence of atheroma-like calcifications, which appear 1.5 to 2.5 cm posterior and inferior to the angle of the mandible. Patients with evidence of such lesions should be referred to their primary care physician with the suggestion that an ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries is indicated.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Medical Education, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Hospital Dental Service, UCLA Medical Center, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. arthur.friedlander@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Arthur H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Friedlander
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Federico
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yueh
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Eva E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Chin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000528:radiation effects; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004825:Epiglottis / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler