Image-Guided PET-CT Surveillance Can Be as Effective as Neck Dissection for Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

Tissue samples were collected and stained for the p16 protein at the University of Birmingham (Birmingham, UK). The study lasted from 2007 to 2012, and included 564 patients from 37 centers in the UK. Seventeen percent of the patients had nodal stage N2a disease, while 61% had stage N2b disease.

The results showed that the use of PET-CT guided surveillance resulted in significantly less neck dissections (54) compared to planned dissection surgery (221). Surgical complications were similar in both groups. The 2-year overall survival rate was 84.9% for those patients undergoing PET-CT surveillance, and 81.5% for those that underwent planned-surgery. In addition, savings of UKP 1,492 per patient were realized per patient, for the duration of the trial, when PET-CT guided surveillance was used instead of neck dissection.

The researchers concluded that survival rates for patients who underwent planned neck dissection were similar to those that underwent PET-CT guided surveillance, and that imaging surveillance resulted in significantly less operations than neck dissection, and was more cost-effective.

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University of Birmingham