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PurposeReducing radiation treatment dose could improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients with good-risk human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Whether reduced-dose radiation produces disease control and QOL equivalent to standard chemoradiation is not proven.Patients and methodsIn this randomized, phase II trial, patients with p16-positive, T1-T2 N1-N2b M0, or T3 N0-N2b M0 OPSCC (7th edition staging) with ≤ 10 pack-years of smoking received 60 Gy of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) over 6 weeks with concurrent weekly cisplatin (C) or 60 Gy IMRT over 5 weeks. To be considered for a phase III study, an arm had to achieve a 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate superior to a historical control rate of 85% and a 1-year mean composite score ≥ 60 on the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI).ResultsThree hundred six patients were randomly assigned and eligible. Two-year PFS for IMRT + C was 90.5% rejecting the null hypothesis of 2-year PFS ≤ 85% (P = .04). For IMRT, 2-year PFS was 87.6% (P = .23). One-year MDADI mean scores were 85.30 and 81.76 for IMRT + C and IMRT, respectively. Two-year overall survival rates were 96.7% for IMRT + C and 97.3% for IMRT. Acute adverse events (AEs) were defined as those occurring within 180 days from the end of treatment. There were more grade 3-4 acute AEs for IMRT + C (79.6% v 52.4%; P < .001). Rates of grade 3-4 late AEs were 21.3% and 18.1% (P = .56).ConclusionThe IMRT + C arm met both prespecified end points justifying advancement to a phase III study. Higher rates of grade ≥ 3 acute AEs were reported in the IMRT + C arm.

Background: This study examined the trajectory of health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) for patients with clinical stage N0 HNSCC enrolled in ACRIN 6685 who underwent elective neck dissection(s). Methods: HRQoL of 230 patients in the ACRIN 6685 trial was measured prospectively up to 2 years following surgery using the University of Washington Quality of Life instrument. Results: General Health Within the Last 7 Days did not differ significantly from baseline at any follow‐up. General Health Relative to Before Cancer fell significantly by 5.8 points following surgery (p = 0.048), and then returned to 3.0 points above baseline at 1 year (p = 0.65). For Overall Quality of Life, HRQoL fell significantly by 4.3 points following surgery (p = 0.031) and then returned to levels not significantly different from baseline. Conclusions: Patients with stage N0 HNSCC experience significant declines in HRQoL immediately following surgery, including neck dissection, which recovers to near or better than baseline within 1–2 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UnlabelledBecause only pathologic examination can confirm the presence or absence of malignant disease in cancer patients, a certain rate of misinterpretation in any kind of imaging study is inevitable. For the accuracy of interpretation to be improved, determination of the nature, causes, and magnitude of this problem is needed. This study was designed to collect pertinent information from physicians referring patients for oncologic (18)F-FDG PET/CT.MethodsA total of 662 referring physicians completed an 11-question survey focused on their experience with the interpretation of oncologic (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies. The participants were oncologists (36.1%; n = 239), hematologists (14.5%; n = 96), radiation oncologists (7.4%; n = 49), surgeons (33.8%; n = 224), and other physicians (8.2%; n = 54). Questions were aimed at determining the frequency, nature, and causes of scan misinterpretations as well as potential solutions to reduce the frequency of misinterpretations.ResultsPerceived misinterpretation rates ranged from 5% to 20%, according to most (59.3%) of the participants; 20.8% of respondents reported rates of less than 5%. Overinterpretation rather than underinterpretation was more frequently encountered (68.9% vs. 8.7%, respectively). Limited availability of a patient's history and limited experience of interpreters were the major contributors to this phenomenon, according to 46.8% and 26.7% of the participants, respectively. The actions most commonly suggested to reduce misinterpretation rates (multiple suggestions were possible) were the institution of multidisciplinary meetings (59.8%), the provision of adequate history when ordering an examination (37.4%), and a discussion with imaging specialists when receiving the results of the examination (38.4%).ConclusionOverinterpretation rather than underinterpretation of oncologic (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies prevails in clinical practice, according to referring physicians. Closer collaboration of imaging specialists with referring physicians through more multidisciplinary meetings, improved communication, and targeted training of interpreting physicians are actions suggested to reduce the rates of misinterpretation of oncologic (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies.

UnlabelledThere has been no established qualitative system of interpretation for therapy response assessment using PET/CT for head and neck cancers. The objective of this study was to validate the Hopkins interpretation system to assess therapy response and survival outcome in head and neck squamous cell cancer patients (HNSCC).MethodsThe study included 214 biopsy-proven HNSCC patients who underwent a posttherapy PET/CT study, between 5 and 24 wk after completion of treatment. The median follow-up was 27 mo. PET/CT studies were interpreted by 3 nuclear medicine physicians, independently. The studies were scored using a qualitative 5-point scale, for the primary tumor, for the right and left neck, and for overall assessment. Scores 1, 2, and 3 were considered negative for tumors, and scores 4 and 5 were considered positive for tumors. The Cohen κ coefficient (κ) was calculated to measure interreader agreement. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier plots with a Mantel-Cox log-rank test and Gehan Breslow Wilcoxon test for comparisons.ResultsOf the 214 patients, 175 were men and 39 were women. There was 85.98%, 95.33%, 93.46%, and 87.38% agreement between the readers for overall, left neck, right neck, and primary tumor site response scores, respectively. The corresponding κ coefficients for interreader agreement between readers were, 0.69-0.79, 0.68-0.83, 0.69-0.87, and 0.79-0.86 for overall, left neck, right neck, and primary tumor site response, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and overall accuracy of the therapy assessment were 68.1%, 92.2%, 71.1%, 91.1%, and 86.9%, respectively. Cox multivariate regression analysis showed human papillomavirus (HPV) status and PET/CT interpretation were the only factors associated with PFS and OS. Among the HPV-positive patients (n = 123), there was a significant difference in PFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.57; P = 0.0063) and OS (HR, 0.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.00-0.13; P = 0.0006) between the patients who had a score negative for residual tumor versus positive for residual tumor. A similar significant difference was observed in PFS and OS for all patients. There was also a significant difference in the PFS of patients with PET-avid residual disease in one site versus multiple sites in the neck (HR, 0.23; log-rank P = 0.004).ConclusionThe Hopkins 5-point qualitative therapy response interpretation criteria for head and neck PET/CT has substantial interreader agreement and excellent negative predictive value and predicts OS and PFS in patients with HPV-positive HNSCC.