Efficacy of radioactive 125I seed implantation in treating inoperable or refused operation head and neck cancers.

PURPOSE: This study aims to observe the curative effect of radioactive 125I seed implantation in treating inoperable or refused operation head and neck cancer.

METHODS: Data from 132 patients with head and neck malignant tumors underwent computed tomography-guided radioactive 125I seed implantation from April 2004 to August 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the local control and survival rates. The logarithmic rank test and the Cox proportional risk model were used for univariate and multivariate analysis, respectively.

RESULTS: A total of 132 patients were enrolled. All tumors were confirmed to be malignant through pathological analysis. Herein, we revealed that the seeds were implanted at the primary tumor site (23 cases, representing 17.4%), recurrent (9 cases, representing 6.8%), or metastatic lymph nodes (100 cases, representing 75.8%). Three months after the operation, 96 patients were evaluated as effective, whereas 36 patients were considered ineffective. The median local control time was 16 months; the local rates at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months were observed to be 75%, 47%, 35%, and 22%, respectively. The study reports a median survival period (OS) of 15 months. Additionally, the survival rates at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months were 61%, 42%, 31%, and 27%, respectively. Regarding side effects, skin or mucosal toxicity occurred in 14 patients. Grade I skin toxicity occurred in seven cases (5.3%), grade IV skin toxicity in one case (0.8%), grade I mucosal ulcer in four cases (3.0%), and grade I dry mouth in four cases (3.0%). The multivariate analysis showed that short-term efficacy and tumor site were independent prognostic factors (P < 0.001, 0.006, respectively). Additionally, the multivariate analysis showed that the independent OS influencing factors included D90, the longest tumor diameter, and short-term efficacy (P = 0.017, 0.001, <0.001).

CONCLUSION: Radioactive 125I seed implantation is a safe and effective salvage therapy for patients with inoperable or refused operation head and neck cancer.