Reducing the risk of xerostomia and mandibular osteoradionecrosis: the potential benefits of intensity modulated radiotherapy in advanced oral cavity carcinoma.

Radiation therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity may be curative, but carries a risk of permanent damage to bone, salivary glands, and other soft tissues. We studied the potential of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) to improve target volume coverage, and normal tissue sparing for advanced oral cavity carcinoma (OCC). Six patients with advanced OCC requiring bilateral irradiation to the oral cavity and neck were studied. Standard 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and inverse-planned IMRT dose distributions were compared by using dose-volume histograms. Doses to organs at risk, including spinal cord, parotid glands, and mandible, were assessed as surrogates of radiation toxicity. PTV1 mean dose was 60.8 +/- 0.8 Gy for 3DCRT and 59.8 +/- 0.1 Gy for IMRT (p = 0.04). PTV1 dose range was 24.7 +/- 6 Gy for 3DCRT and 15.3 +/- 4 Gy for IMRT (p = 0.001). PTV2 mean dose was 54.5 +/- 0.8 Gy for 3DCRT and for IMRT was 54.2 +/- 0.2 Gy (p = 0.34). PTV2 dose range was improved by IMRT (7.8 +/- 3.2 Gy vs. 30.7 +/- 12.8 Gy, p = 0.006). Homogeneity index (HI) values for PTV2 were closer to unity using IMRT (p = 0.0003). Mean parotid doses were 25.6 +/- 2.7 Gy for IMRT and 42.0 +/- 8.8 Gy with 3DCRT (p = 0.002). The parotid V30 in all IMRT plans was <45%. The mandible V50, V55, and V60 were significantly lower for the IMRT plans. Maximum spinal cord and brain stem doses were similar for the 2 techniques. IMRT provided superior target volume dose homogeneity and sparing of organs at risk. The magnitude of reductions in dose to the salivary glands and mandible are likely to translate into reduced incidence of xerostomia and osteoradionecrosis for patients with OCC.