Interpreting the patterns of local failure following postoperative volumetric-modulated arctherapy in oral cavity and oropharynx cancers: Impact of the different methods of analysis
Résumé
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy or volumetric-modulated arctherapy is nowadays the recommended radiation technique for the treatment of head and neck cancers. However, by providing a significant dose gradient between target volumes and organs at risk, there is a risk of target missing and thus recurrence in case of inadequate delineation. It is therefore necessary to determine the origin of these recurrences to improve clinical practice. Over the past years, different methods have been described for the analysis of recurrences. Using the patterns of failure of patients with oral cavity and oropharynx carcinoma, treated with postoperative volumetric-modulated arctherapy in our institution, the purpose of this work was to analyse the sites of local recurrences and to evaluate the disparity in the classification of recurrences when different methods were used.