Radiation and chemotherapy with no excessive toxicity in a patient with human papillomavirus-related tonsillar cancer and porphyria cutanea tarda: Case report and literature review

Abstract

Background: Porphyria is a condition of cutaneous photosensitivity. It is unclear if radiotherapy (RT) is safe in patients with porphyria.

Methods: We report a patient case with uncontrolled porphyria cutanea tarda treated with chemoradiation for p16-positive oropharyngeal cancer. Given the scarcity of data on this subject, we also conducted a literature review on the topic of radiation in patients with porphyria.

Results: The patient in our study did not experience any unusual acute or late toxicity, despite receiving a high dose of cutaneous radiation. We also found the majority of the literature supports the safe use of therapeutic radiation in patients with porphyria.

Conclusion: In this patient, and in the majority of the literature, radiation seems safe in patients with porphyria; however, there are few reports on the subject in the literature, therefore, caution is warranted.

Keywords: chemotherapy; oropharynx; porphyria; radiation; toxicity.