A Prospective Evaluation of Tubarial Gland Doses With Acute Dysphagia and Treatment Tolerance in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

Background This study prospectively analyzed the clinical significance of tubarial glands (TGs) doses in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Methods Patients diagnosed with HNC in Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, Turkey were analyzed. TGs volumes and doses were noted. The patients were evaluated in terms of acute dysphagia (AD) and radiation therapy (RT)-associated xerostomia. Results The median volume of the TGs was 3.5(2.1-5.9)cc. No increased standardized uptake values (SUV) were observed in the TGs. There was no significant relationship between TGs values and the third or sixth months of xerostomia after RT. There was a significant relationship between grade ≥2 AD and TGs-D (p0.020); TGs-V(p0.007); TGs-V(p0.009); TGs-V(p0.011); TGs-V(p0.010), TGs-V(p0.045). In terms of the risk of grade ≥2 AD, the cut-off value of the TGs-D was analyzed for 50 Gy, with 75% sensitivity and 73.3% specificity (p 0.020; AUC 0.746; 95% CI 0.561-0.929). Additionally for grade ≥2 AD, the cut-off value of the TGs-Vwas analyzed 78 with 81.3% sensitivity and 80.0% specificity (p 0.011; AUC 0.769; 95% CI 0.591-0.947). Conclusion A significant correlation was found between TGs doses and AD during RT. TGs-Vvalue showed higher significance. In future studies, the clinical significance of TGs can be studied especially on this value. The relationship between TGs doses and xerostomia should be evaluated with a larger series.