Head & Neck Academic Centre& UCL Division of Surgery & Interventional ScienceGround Floor Central, University College London Hospital, 250 Euston Road, London, NW1 2PQ, UK.
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK.
Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2024 Jun;25(6):703-718. doi: 10.1007/s11864-024-01198-0. Epub 2024 May 1.
Dysphagia, difficulty in eating and drinking, remains the most common side effect of radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) with devastating consequences for function and quality of life (QOL). Over the past decade, 5-year survival has improved due to multiple factors including treatment advances, reduction in smoking, introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and more favourable prognosis of HPV-related cancers. Increased prevalence of HPV-positive disease, which tends to affect younger individuals, has led to an elevated number of people living for longer with the sequelae of cancer and its treatment. Symptoms are compounded by late effects of radiotherapy which may lead to worsening of dysphagia for some long-term survivors or new-onset dysphagia for others. Speech-language pathology (SLP) input remains core to the assessment and management of dysphagia following HNC treatment. In this article, we present current SLP management of dysphagia post-radiotherapy. We discuss conventional treatment approaches, the emergence of therapy adjuncts and current service delivery models. The impact of adherence on therapy outcomes is highlighted. Despite treatment advancements, patients continue to present with dysphagia which is resistant to existing intervention approaches. There is wide variation in treatment programmes, with a paucity of evidence to support optimal type, timing and intensity of treatment. We discuss the need for further research, including exploration of the impact of radiotherapy on the central nervous system (CNS), the link between sarcopenia and radiotherapy-induced dysphagia and the benefits of visual biofeedback in rehabilitation.
吞咽困难是头颈部癌症(HNC)放射治疗最常见的副作用,对功能和生活质量(QOL)有毁灭性的影响。在过去的十年中,由于多种因素的影响,包括治疗进展、吸烟减少、人乳头瘤病毒(HPV)疫苗的引入以及 HPV 相关癌症预后较好,5 年生存率得到了提高。HPV 阳性疾病的患病率增加,往往影响年轻人,导致越来越多的人因癌症及其治疗的后遗症而长期生存。放射治疗的晚期效应使症状更加复杂,这可能导致一些长期幸存者的吞咽困难恶化,或其他新发生的吞咽困难。言语语言病理学(SLP)的介入仍然是 HNC 治疗后评估和管理吞咽困难的核心。在本文中,我们介绍了目前 SLP 对放射治疗后吞咽困难的管理。我们讨论了常规治疗方法、治疗辅助手段的出现以及当前的服务提供模式。强调了依从性对治疗效果的影响。尽管治疗有所进展,但患者仍存在吞咽困难,且对现有干预措施有抗性。治疗方案存在广泛差异,缺乏支持最佳治疗类型、时间和强度的证据。我们讨论了进一步研究的必要性,包括探索放射治疗对中枢神经系统(CNS)的影响、肌肉减少症与放射治疗引起的吞咽困难之间的联系以及康复中视觉生物反馈的益处。