Articles

Impact of treatment delays in patients with head and neck cancer

BJMO - volume 18, issue 2, march 2024

D. Schrijvers MD, PhD, S. Mignon MD, M. Brands MD, S. van Roy MD, S. De Schepper MD, N. Van Bruaene MD, D. Nevens MD, PhD, N. Meireson MD

SUMMARY

Head and neck cancer is a complex cancer that involves multiple disciplines (surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapy). The timely start of surgery and radiotherapy is of utmost importance since the time between the start of treatment is related to overall survival. A delay in surgery increases overall mortality by 6%, while a delay in radiotherapy increases overall mortality by 9%. In this article, the importance of a short time to start treatment in patients with head and neck cancer is discussed.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2024;18(2):46–8)

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