Journal
HEAD AND NECK-JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES AND SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK
Volume 34, Issue 7, Pages 985-993Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/hed.21848
Keywords
ESR; CRP; head and neck cancer; mucositis
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Funding
- Juravinski Cancer Centre Foundation
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Background Current evaluation of radiation-induced mucositis in head and neck cancer relies on subjective scoring with interrater variability. We evaluated serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as objective markers of radiation-induced mucositis. Methods Weekly serum CRP and ESR levels were measured in patients treated for head and neck cancer with radiation +/- chemotherapy. Acute radiation toxicity was evaluated using National Cancer Institute of Canada-Common Toxicity Criteria (NCIC-CTC) version 2.0 and the Head and Neck Radiotherapy Questionnaire (HNRQ). Results ESR and CRP levels were significantly elevated by 3 weeks (p = .01) and 6 weeks (p = .0002), respectively, and independent of age or pretreatment surgery. ESR was significantly dependent on radiation dose (p = .0004) and significantly higher with chemoradiation (p = .03). Conclusion Serum ESR and CRP rise reliably in a radiation dose-dependent manner. ESR correlated with clinical symptoms and distinguished patients receiving chemoradiation. ESR and CRP may be an objective and sensitive marker of radiation-induced mucositis. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2012
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