title: Long-term follow-up of stereotactic radiosurgery for head and neck malignancies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stereotactic radiosurgery is widely applied to deliver additional dose to head and neck tumors. However, its safety and efficacy remains equivocal.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred eighty-four patients with primary head and neck cancers treated between January 1990 and August 2012 with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred fifteen sites were treated with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery among 184 patients. Fifty-one percent of patients received concurrent external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), 72% had prior surgery, and 46% received chemotherapy. Most (44%) had squamous cell carcinoma and most patients (65%) were treated for recurrent disease. With a median follow-up of 17.3 months, 12-month local control was 82%. Late effects occurred in 59 patients with the most common being temporal lobe necrosis (15 patients).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Radiosurgery can provide tumor control for patients with head and neck cancers involving the skull base. Long-term follow-up is important in survivors to identify late effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.|Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.affiliation: RS McLaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Center, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Fawaad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.|Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Pollock
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Link
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stien
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Yolanda I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Garces
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Foote
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000379:methods; D012086:Reoperation / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: boost; chemoradiation; head and neck malignancy; late effects; stereotactic radiosurgery