Treatment of Unresectable Sublingual Gland Cancer with No Distant Metastasis (M0)

This protocol addresses sublingual gland cancer in patients where the tumour cannot be surgically removed and there is no evidence of distant spread.

Clinical Scenario

Unresectable sublingual gland cancer, no distant metastasis (M0). A cancer is considered unresectable when macroscopic tumour is likely to be left behind following attempted surgery.

Treatment Approach

Management in this setting involves palliative radiotherapy. The full protocol specifies the applicable schedules and criteria for their use.

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References

DOI: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2022.100602

A cancer should be considered unresectable if macroscopic tumour is likely to be left behind.
For palliative RT of head and neck cancer, the 'Christie scheme' (16 x 3.125 Gy over 4 weeks) resulted in a 45% complete response rate and 28% partial response rate.
In the RTOG 8502 study, an RT regimen of 4 x 3.7 Gy over 2 days was repeated in cycles of 4 weeks.

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