Acute effects of Radiotherapy in patients with Head and Neck Cancer: IMRT vs RapidArc TM Efeitos Agudos do Tratamento de Radioterapia em Doentes com Carcinoma de Cabeça e Pescoço: IMRT vs RapidArc TM
Radiation therapy is a standard treatment in the multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of head and neck carcinomas (HNC). The description and perception of the effects caused by the treatment in the normal tissues is important for the clinical evaluation of the patient because treatment is interrupted if the patient develops several acute side effects which directly affect their survival. This study involved 46 patients over 6 weeks of treatment and evaluated the observed acute effects of treatment in five different anatomical areas - skin, mucosa, salivary glands, pharynx /esophagus and larynx. This evaluation adopted the classification of the Acute Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). Data analysis revealed that the acute effects related to the RapidArc TM technique appeared earlier when compared to IMRT techniques. On the other hand, the IMRT technique showed more exacerbated high-grade effects.