Sensorineural hearing loss in patients with head and neck cancer after chemoradiotherapy and radiotherapy: A systematic review of the literature
Corresponding Author
Eleonoor A. R. Theunissen MD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Corresponding author: E. A. R. Theunissen, Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorSophie C. J. Bosma MD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorCharlotte L. Zuur MD, PhD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorRené Spijker MSc
Medical Library, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dutch Cochrane Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorSieberen van der Baan MD, PhD
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorWouter A. Dreschler MSc, PhD
Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Audiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorJan Paul de Boer MD, PhD
Department of Medical Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorAlfons J. M. Balm MD, PhD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorCoen R. N. Rasch MD, PhD
Department of Radiation Oncology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Eleonoor A. R. Theunissen MD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Corresponding author: E. A. R. Theunissen, Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorSophie C. J. Bosma MD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorCharlotte L. Zuur MD, PhD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorRené Spijker MSc
Medical Library, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dutch Cochrane Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorSieberen van der Baan MD, PhD
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorWouter A. Dreschler MSc, PhD
Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Audiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorJan Paul de Boer MD, PhD
Department of Medical Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorAlfons J. M. Balm MD, PhD
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorCoen R. N. Rasch MD, PhD
Department of Radiation Oncology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorThis work was supported by Strating Foundation. Strating Foundation had no involvement in study design, collection of the data, analysis, and interpretation of the data.
ABSTRACT
Background
Both radiotherapy (RT) and cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with head and neck cancer may cause sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The purpose of this review was to provide more insight into SNHL because of CRT compared to RT.
Methods
Comprehensive search of Medline and Embase with the terms “radiotherapy” combined with “ototoxicity,” “head and neck squamous cell carcinoma,” and synonyms.
Results
Of the 2507 studies found, 21 were included in this study. Pooled analysis could not be committed because of heterogeneity. Incidence rates of SNHL after RT and CRT varied considerably, with percentages ranging from 0% to 43% and 17% to 88%, respectively. Factors that influenced the risk of SNHL were radiation dose to the cochlea, follow-up time, age, baseline hearing level, and cisplatin dose.
Conclusion
The wide range of SNHL incidence rates makes it impossible to draw any conclusions on the severity of RT- and CRT-induced ototoxicity. To allow for future comparison of study outcomes, development of uniform criteria is of utmost importance. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 281-292, 2015
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