Objective: Evaluation of the efficacy and toxicity of split-course accelerated hyperfractionated irradiation (CHA-CHA) as a sole treatment for advanced head and neck (H&N) cancer patients.
Methods: We enrolled 101 patients (39 in CHA-CHA and 37 in conventional (Conv.) arm completed the treatment). The CHA-CHA arm patients were irradiated twice a day, 7 days a week, using a fraction dose (fd) of 1.6 Gy up to 64 Gy with an 8-day gap in midterm. Patients in the control (Conv.) arm group were irradiated with a fd of 2 Gy, five times a week to a total dose of 72-74 Gy in the overall treatment time of 50-53 days. Quality of life (QOL) and acute mucosal reaction were evaluated during radiotherapy (RT). After RT, we followed the effect of treatment, QOL, performance status and adverse effects of radiation. For statistical analysis mainly a hierarchical multilevel modelling was used.
Results: QOL was most deteriorated in the CHA-CHA arm; the CHA-CHA scheme also caused a relatively stronger acute injury. There were no significant differences in late adverse effects. In the CHA-CHA arm in 35% and in Conv. arm in 30% of patients, disease was controlled during follow-up. Tumour regression 1 year after the treatment was significantly better in the CHA-CHA arm. However, the overall survival rate analysis did not show significant difference between both arms.
Conclusion: Despite differences in treatment results, we cannot conclude that split-course accelerated hyperfractionated irradiation is superior to conventionally fractionated RT as a sole treatment for advanced H&N cancer patients.
Advances in knowledge: Obtained results in the context of published data support the statement that altered fractionations alone do not give an advantage for advanced H&N cancer patients.