Radiation Therapy in the Treatment of Primary or Recurrent Unresectable Desmoid Tumors of the Neck

Summary

Our aim was to examine the outcome of radiotherapy (RT) in the treatment of primary or recurrent unresectable desmoid tumors of the neck. A retrospective analysis was performed on 30 patients between 1/2008 and 12/2017, with 3 primary and 27 recurrent unresectable desmoid tumors of the neck. The median follow-up time was 47.5 months (range 2-126 months). Radiotherapy dose varied from 50 to 66Gy (median 60 Gy, 23/30 patients) with all fraction size of 2 Gy. The objective response rate (ORR: CR or PR) to definitive RT was 56.7% (17/30 patients). Three patients developed local recurrence after RT, which occurred out-of-target. On univariate analysis, ORR was significantly influenced by tumor size (＜5 cm vs. >=5 cm) (p = 0.023). Age ( 40 vs. >40 years) (p = 0.804), gender (p = 0.629) and RT dose (<60, =60 vs. >60 Gy) (p = 0.613) were not significantly associated with ORR. The most common acute side effect of the radiation-related complication was grade 1-2 skin toxicity. Radiotherapy is a valuable option in the management of primary or recurrent unresectable desmoid tumors of the neck when surgical resection is not feasible. According to our results, radiotherapy is especially beneficial in tumor size ＜5cm. The complications of the radiation-related are acceptable.