Dysphagia in head and neck cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy.
Dysphagia is a very common complaint of head and neck cancer patients and can exist before, during, and after chemoradiotherapy. It leads to nutritional deficiency, weight loss, and prolonged unnatural feeding and also has a major potential risk for aspiration. This has a significant negative impact on the patient's entire quality of life. Because treatment of dysphagia in this setting is rarely effective, prevention is paramount. Several strategies have been developed to reduce dysphagia. These include swallowing exercises, treatment modification techniques such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy, selective delineation of elective nodes, reducing xerostomia by parotid-sparing radiotherapy, and adding of radioprotectors. However, more research is needed to further decrease the incidence of dysphagia and improve quality of life.
Platteaux
Nele
N
Department of Radiation Oncology, Leuven Cancer Institute, University Hospitals Leuven, Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Leuven, Belgium. nele.platteaux@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
Dirix
Piet
P
Dejaeger
Eddy
E
Nuyts
Sandra
S
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D010779:Photofluorography; D011788:Quality of Life; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000009:adverse effects; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated; D012307:Risk Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014741:Video Recording
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals