Oligometastatic head and neck cancer: Which patients benefit from radical local treatment of all tumour sites?

• Main Authors: Thomas Weissmann, Daniel Höfler, Markus Hecht, Sabine Semrau, Marlen Haderlein, Irina Filimonova, Benjamin Frey, Christoph Bert, Sebastian Lettmaier, Konstantinos Mantsopoulos, Heinrich Iro, Rainer Fietkau, Florian Putz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021-03-01
• Series: Radiation Oncology
• Subjects: Oligometastatic disease; Local treatment; Radiotherapy; SBRT; Head and neck cancer
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13014-021-01790-w

Abstract Background There is a large lack of evidence for optimal treatment in oligometastatic head and neck cancer and it is especially unclear which patients benefit from radical local treatment of all tumour sites. Methods 40 patients with newly diagnosed oligometastatic head and neck cancer received radical local treatment of all tumour sites from 14.02.2008 to 24.08.2018. Primary endpoint was overall survival. Time to occurrence of new distant metastases and local control were evaluated as secondary endpoints as well as prognostic factors in univariate und multivariate Cox’s regression analysis. To investigate the impact of total tumour volume on survival, all tumour sites were segmented on baseline imaging. Results Radical local treatment included radiotherapy in 90% of patients, surgery in 25% and radiofrequency ablation in 3%. Median overall survival from first diagnosis of oligometastatic disease was 23.0 months, 2-year survival was 48%, 3-year survival was 37%, 4-year survival was 24% and 5-year survival was 16%. Median time to occurrence of new distant metastases was 11.6 months with freedom from new metastases showing a tail pattern after 3 years of follow-up (22% at 3, 4- and 5-years post-treatment). In multivariate analysis, better ECOG status, absence of bone and brain metastases and lower total tumour volume were significantly associated with improved survival, whereas the number of metastases and involved organ sites was not. Conclusions Radical local treatment in oligometastatic head and neck cancer shows promising outcomes and needs to be further pursued. Patients with good performance status, absence of brain and bone metastases and low total tumour volume were identified as optimal candidates for radical local treatment in oligometastatic head and neck cancer and should be considered for selection in future prospective trials.