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SAN ANTONIO -- Radiation de-intensification was tied to a quicker rebound in a number of quality of life (QoL) measures and reduced costs for patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, a pair of studies found.

With lower doses of radiotherapy (RT), QoL measures including speech, pain, and socialization still generally worsened after treatment, but returned to baseline within 3 to 6 months, reported Kevin Pearlstein, MD, of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

And more aggressive de-intensification led to a 22% cost reduction for treatment overall ($45,884 versus $57,845 with standard care), with 33% lower costs for RT itself and 50% lower costs for post-treatment care (P=0.01), according to findings presented by Mark Waddle, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

The studies were presented here at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting during a session on improving outcomes while minimizing toxicity in oropharyngeal cancer.

In the research from Pearlstein's group, patients reported global QoL scores of 81 at baseline (using the 100-point EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, where higher scores connote better health), which dipped to 69 at 3 months post-treatment, then rose to 75 at 6 months. Global QoL scores increased to 82 and 84 by months 12 and 24, respectively.

Common long-term side effects such as sticky saliva, taste, and ability to swallow did not return to baseline within months 3 to 6, but continued to improve between months 12 and 24. Pearlstein noted that swallowing took longer to return to baseline, typically between 1 to 3 years.

"This highlights the possibility that there can be improvement in these symptoms with longer-term follow-up," he said.

Although oropharynx cancers associated with HPV generally have a more favorable prognosis compared with those that are not, the treatment is similar for both. As a result, these lower-risk patients still typically experience symptoms of dysphagia, dry mouth, and taste changes for upwards of 1 year after treatment, Pearlstein said.

While standard treatments typically include 70 Gy RT along with 100 mg/m² cisplatin, this study investigated whether patients given 60 Gy RT along with weekly 30 mg/m² doses of cisplatin would result in improved QoL. Cisplatin-intolerant patients were treated with cetuximab, and patients who could not tolerate either did not receive chemotherapy.

The authors also conducted a multivariate analysis that controlled for type of chemotherapy, gender, and age. Those with with worse baseline symptoms of dry mouth, taste, and sticky saliva were more likely to return to baseline function at 12 months (ORs of 1.06, 1.09, and 1.02, respectively). Similar associations for sticky saliva and swallowing were found among patients who underwent unilateral neck RT.

"One obvious limitation is that we don't have a direct comparison with standard intensity chemotherapy/radiotherapy," Pearlstein said. "However, when we view these findings in the context of what we already know for patients with head and neck cancer, we do feel our findings suggest that patients who receive de-intensified chemotherapy/radiotherapy may benefit from faster return to baseline quality of life, continue improvement in symptoms over time, and less long-term morbidity."

To conduct the study, the researchers collected data from two de-intensification phase II trials that took place from 2012 to 2017. A total of 126 patients were included, a majority of which were ages 60 and over (53%) and were non-smokers (63%). Patients were followed for an average of 25 months.

Cost of Treatment

De-intensification of radiation may also benefit these patients by decreasing total treatment costs, according to an analysis of a prospective phase II study.

"Several studies have or are investigating de-escalation of treatment to reduce toxicity while maintaining outcomes," Waddle said during his presentation. "However, those studies haven't investigated the cost of care that may be associated with de-escalation of treatment."

He reported that the median cost was $17,309 for RT among those who received de-escalated doses compared with $28,161 with standard treatment (P<0.0001). The per-patient costs were $797 versus $933 per month, respectively, in the first 6 months after treatment and $518 versus $611 in the 16 to 24 months after treatment.

Among the post-treatment savings, gastrointestinal-related costs were 79% lower (P<0.01), hospitalization costs were 40% lower, and emergency department visit costs were 90% lower.

This study obtained data from the MC1273 trial, in which 68 patients received aggressive de-escalated doses of RT (30-36 Gy), and then compared the costs to 84 patients treated with standard of care (60-66 Gy). The average patient age was 58.5 years and the majority of them were white men.