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Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated with Chemoradiotherapy

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Abstract

Dysphagia is a very common complaint of head and neck cancer patients and can exist before, during, and after chemoradiotherapy. It leads to nutritional deficiency, weight loss, and prolonged unnatural feeding and also has a major potential risk for aspiration. This has a significant negative impact on the patient’s entire quality of life. Because treatment of dysphagia in this setting is rarely effective, prevention is paramount. Several strategies have been developed to reduce dysphagia. These include swallowing exercises, treatment modification techniques such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy, selective delineation of elective nodes, reducing xerostomia by parotid-sparing radiotherapy, and adding of radioprotectors. However, more research is needed to further decrease the incidence of dysphagia and improve quality of life.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Flemish League Against Cancer (VLK) and the Clinical Research Fund (KOF) from the University Hospitals Leuven. Piet Dirix is a research assistant (aspirant) of the Research Foundation-Flandres (FWO).

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  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Leuven Cancer Institute, University Hospitals Leuven, Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Nele Platteaux, Piet Dirix & Sandra Nuyts

  2. Department of Geriatrics, Leuven Cancer Institute, University Hospitals Leuven, Campus Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium

    Eddy Dejaeger

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  1. Nele Platteaux
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Correspondence to Nele Platteaux.

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Platteaux, N., Dirix, P., Dejaeger, E. et al. Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated with Chemoradiotherapy. Dysphagia 25, 139–152 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-009-9247-7

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