Why the study?
The incidence of vascular events in patients with head and neck cancer needed to be systematically assessed.
What is the incidence of vascular events in patients with head and neck cancer, and how does it vary by treatment modality?
What is the incidence of vascular events in patients with head and neck cancer, and how does it vary by treatment modality?
Vascular events occur in 4-5% of head and neck cancer patients, with the highest risk associated with radiation therapy, though routine anticoagulation is not supported.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Alerts clinicians to monitor vascular events during radiation for head and neck cancer; extends incidence data but leaves optimal prophylaxis unresolved.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence of vascular events in patients with head and neck cancer. REVIEW METHODS: Primary studies identified through April 2023. Meta-analysis was performed. RESULTS: There were 146 studies included in the systematic review. Rates of events were collected in the overall group, those with chemoprophylaxis, and those that underwent surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Of 1 184 160 patients, 4.3% had a vascular event. Radiation therapy had highest risk of overall events and stroke when compared to surgery and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy had a higher risk of stroke and overall events when compared to surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Vascular events occur in 4%-5% of patients with head and neck cancer. Our data does not support the use of routine anticoagulation. Patients undergoing radiation therapy had the highest frequency of events.
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Monaghan et al. (2024) studied this question.
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