HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients benefit from radiation therapy

(Media-Newswire.com) - HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients respond well to radiation therapy treatments and experience similar toxicity rates as non-HIV-positive patients, despite prior reports to the contrary, according to a study in the January issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology ( ASTRO ).

Patients with HIV have a significantly higher risk of developing some types of cancers; however, since the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy ( HAART ) began in the mid-1990s, the instances of AIDS-related cancer have greatly decreased. This has alternately caused a higher incidence of these patients developing non-AIDS-related cancers, including those originating from the head and neck.

Radiation therapy constitutes a current standard treatment for head and neck cancer, but there has been very little investigation into how radiation therapy affects HIV-positive patients. Traditionally, aggressive treatment such as radiation therapy has been used sparingly in this population due to concerns regarding acute and late complications. This newly presented research sought to determine the feasibility of radiation therapy and the likelihood of cure for HIV-positive patients with head and neck cancer.

The three-year estimates of overall survival and local-regional control were 78 percent and 92 percent, respectively. Grade 3+ toxicity was reported by 58 percent of patients, but this did not appear worse than the standard rate seen in HIV-negative patients.

source: Media Newswire