title: Outcomes of laser thermal therapy for recurrent head and neck cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the outcomes of a phase II study using laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) as a palliative treatment for 106 patients with recurrent head and neck tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary hospital in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  The primary endpoints were tumor response and survival. Prognostic values were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The best results were seen in oral cavity tumors, in which mean survival was 29.1 months, as compared to neck tumors (mean 14.4 +/- 6.9 months; range 7.5-20.7 months; with a 95% confidence interval). Further analysis showed that clinical factors such as gender, smoking, and alcohol use were not indicators of poor prognosis, whereas neck disease and tumor stage at first treatment were relevant factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, 40 out of 106 patients treated by LITT remained alive at the end of our follow-up, and a complete response was seen in 24 (22.6%) patients. The highest response rate was seen in oral cavity tumors, which suggests that tumor location at this site may be a predictor of favorable outcome with LITT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sercarz
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bublik
authors.forename: Jayne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Paulo B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: Kelsy N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Areco
authors.forename: Maria Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Brandalise
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masterman-Smith
authors.forename: Marcos B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Paiva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies