Observational Study of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients

The purpose of this study is to measure the two-year rate of tooth loss in patients who have received external beam radiation therapy with curative intent for head and neck cancer. The study will also evaluate the sequelae of radiation therapy and oral complications that may occur as a result to receiving radiation therapy.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Aged 18 years and older;
* Willing and able to provide signed and dated consent form;
* Diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or a salivary gland cancer (SGC), and intends to receive external beam radiation therapy (RT) with curative intent (tumor eradication), with or without concomitant chemotherapy;

OR

* Diagnosed with a non-SCC, non-SGC malignancy of the head and neck region, and intends to receive RT, with or without concomitant chemotherapy. The subject must be expected to receive at least 4500 cGy to one of the following sites:

  1. base of tongue
  2. buccal/labial mucosa
  3. epiglottis
  4. floor of mouth
  5. gingiva/alveolar ridge
  6. hard palate
  7. hypopharynx
  8. larynx
  9. lip
  10. mandible
  11. maxilla
  12. maxillary sinus
  13. nasal cavity
  14. nasopharynx
  15. neck
  16. oral cavity
  17. oral tongue
  18. oropharynx
  19. paranasal sinus/orbit
  20. parotid gland
  21. pharynx
  22. retromolar trigone
  23. soft palate
  24. sublingual gland
  25. submandibular gland
  26. tonsil;
* At least 1 natural tooth remaining or expected to remain in the mouth after completion of the pre-RT dental extractions, if any;
* Willing to comply with all study procedures;
* Willing to participate for the duration of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Receiving palliative RT;
* History of prior curative RT to the head and neck region to eradicate a malignancy;
* Incarcerated at time of screening;
* Anything that would place the subject at increased risk or preclude the subject's full compliance with or completion of the study.

• RESULTBrennan MT, Treister NS, Sollecito TP, Schmidt BL, Patton LL, Mohammadi K, Long Simpson L, Voelker H, Hodges JS, Lalla RV. Dental disease before radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer: Clinical Registry of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients. J Am Dent Assoc. 2017 Dec;148(12):868-877. doi: 10.1016/j.adaj.2017.09.011. PMID 29173331
• RESULTLalla RV, Treister N, Sollecito T, Schmidt B, Patton LL, Mohammadi K, Hodges JS, Brennan MT; OraRad Study Group. Oral complications at 6 months after radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Oral Dis. 2017 Nov;23(8):1134-1143. doi: 10.1111/odi.12710. Epub 2017 Aug 3. PMID 28675770
• RESULTLalla RV, Long-Simpson L, Hodges JS, Treister N, Sollecito T, Schmidt B, Patton LL, Brennan MT; OraRad Study Group. Clinical registry of dental outcomes in head and neck cancer patients (OraRad): rationale, methods, and recruitment considerations. BMC Oral Health. 2017 Feb 27;17(1):59. doi: 10.1186/s12903-017-0344-y. PMID 28241807
• RESULTBrennan MT, Treister NS, Sollecito TP, Schmidt BL, Patton LL, Yang Y, Lin A, Elting LS, Hodges JS, Lalla RV. Epidemiologic factors in patients with advanced head and neck cancer treated with radiation therapy. Head Neck. 2021 Jan;43(1):164-172. doi: 10.1002/hed.26468. Epub 2020 Sep 29. PMID 32991009
• RESULTTalevi V, Wen J, Lalla RV, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB, Mougeot JC. Identification of single nucleotide pleomorphisms associated with periodontal disease in head and neck cancer irradiation patients by exome sequencing. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2020 Jul;130(1):32-42.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2020.02.013. Epub 2020 May 22. PMID 32451231
• RESULTMougeot JC, Stevens CB, Almon KG, Paster BJ, Lalla RV, Brennan MT, Mougeot FB. Caries-associated oral microbiome in head and neck cancer radiation patients: a longitudinal study. J Oral Microbiol. 2019 Mar 8;11(1):1586421. doi: 10.1080/20002297.2019.1586421. eCollection 2019.