Reduced-Dose Radiation Therapy for HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Carcinoma (NRG Oncology HN002).

Purpose: Reducing radiation treatment dose could improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients with good-risk human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Whether reduced-dose radiation produces disease control and QOL equivalent to standard chemoradiation is not proven.

Patients And Methods: In this randomized, phase II trial, patients with p16-positive, T1-T2 N1-N2b M0, or T3 N0-N2b M0 OPSCC (7th edition staging) with ≤ 10 pack-years of smoking received 60 Gy of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) over 6 weeks with concurrent weekly cisplatin (C) or 60 Gy IMRT over 5 weeks.

Impact of Smoking on Outcomes of HPV-related Oropharyngeal Cancer Treated with Primary Radiation or Surgery.

Purpose: Tobacco exposure is known to affect the biological behavior of human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC) with intermediate outcomes relative to tumors that are HPV associated with no smoking exposure and smoking-related HPV-negative tumors. We aim to evaluate the impact of smoking on the outcomes of patients with HPV-associated locally advanced OPC when stratified by treatment modality.

Methods And Materials: A retrospective chart review was undertaken for 352 patients with known p16-overexpressing locally advanced OPC who were managed with curative-intent therapy from 2006 to 2015.