Volume 131, Issue 4 pp. E1162-E1171
Original Report

Pre- and Post-Radiotherapy Radiologic Nodal Features and Oropharyngeal Cancer Outcomes

Thiparom Sananmuang MD

Thiparom Sananmuang MD

Department of Neuroradiology and Head and Neck Imaging, Princess Margaret Cancer, Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Department of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Radiology and Research, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital/Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand

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Eugene Yu MD

Eugene Yu MD

Department of Neuroradiology and Head and Neck Imaging, Princess Margaret Cancer, Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Jie Su MSc

Jie Su MSc

Department of Biostatistics, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9 Canada

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Brian O'Sullivan MD

Brian O'Sullivan MD

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Shrinivas Rathod MD

Shrinivas Rathod MD

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Department of Radiation Oncology, CancerCare Manitoba/University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

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Biu Chan MSc

Biu Chan MSc

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Eric Bartlett MD

Eric Bartlett MD

Department of Neuroradiology and Head and Neck Imaging, Princess Margaret Cancer, Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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John Waldron MD

John Waldron MD

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Jolie Ringash MD

Jolie Ringash MD

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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John Kim MD

John Kim MD

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Scott V. Bratman MD, PhD

Scott V. Bratman MD, PhD

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Andrew Hope MD

Andrew Hope MD

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Anna Spreafico MD

Anna Spreafico MD

Division of Medical Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Aaron R. Hansen MD

Aaron R. Hansen MD

Division of Medical Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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John de Almeida MD

John de Almeida MD

Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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David P. Goldstein MD, MSc

David P. Goldstein MD, MSc

Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Ian Witterick MD

Ian Witterick MD

Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Li Tong BSc

Li Tong BSc

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Wei Xu PhD

Wei Xu PhD

Department of Biostatistics, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9 Canada

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Shao H. Huang MD, MSc, MRT(T)

Corresponding Author

Shao H. Huang MD, MSc, MRT(T)

Department of Radiation Oncology, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Send correspondence to Shao Hui Huang, MD, MRT(T), Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]

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First published: 01 October 2020
Citations: 11

Editor's Note: This Manuscript was accepted for publication on August 04, 2020.

Presented at the 53rd American Society of Head and Neck Radiology (ASHNR) Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.A, October 2–6, 2019.

The authors have no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Abstract

Objectives

To assess the prognostic value of pre-/post-radiotherapy (pre-/post-RT) radiologic lymph node (LN) features in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC) patients treated with definitive (chemo-)RT.

Methods

Clinical node-positive OPCs treated from 2011 to 2015 were reviewed. Nodal features were reviewed by a radiologist on pre-/post-RT computed tomography (CTs). Univariable analysis calculated hazard ratio (HR) for regional failure (RF), distant metastasis (DM), and deaths. Multivariable analysis estimated adjusted HR (aHR) of significant nodal features identified in univariable analysis adjusting for confounders.

Results

Pre-RT CT was undertaken in 344 HPV-positive and 94 HPV-negative OPC patients, of whom 242 (70%) HPV-positive and 67 (71%) HPV-negative also had a post-RT CT. Median follow-up was 4.9 years. Pre-RT LN calcification (pre-RT_LN-cal) increased the risk of RF in HPV-negative (aHR: 5.3, P = .007) but not HPV-positive patients (P = .110). Pre-RT radiologic extranodal extension (pre-RT_rENE+) increased the risk of DM and death in both HPV-negative (DM: aHR 6.6, P < .001; death: aHR 2.1, both P = .019) and HPV-positive patients (DM: aHR 4.9; death: aHR 3.0, both P < .001). Increased risk of RF occured with < 20% post-RT LN size reduction in both HPV-negative (HR 6.0, P = .002) and HPV-positive cases (HR 3.0, P = .049). Post-RT_LN-cal did not affect RF, DM, or death regardless of tumor HPV status (all P > .05).

Conclusion

Pre-RT_LN-cal is associated with higher RF risk in HPV-negative but not in HPV-positive patients. Pre-RT_rENE increases risk of DM and death regardless of tumor HPV status. Minimal post-RT LN size reduction (< 20%) increases risk of RF in both diseases. Post-RT_LN-cal + has no apparent influence on outcomes in either disease.

Level of Evidence

4 (a single institution case–control series) Laryngoscope, 131:E1162–E1171, 2021

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