Definitive radiotherapy and trismus in HNC patients: A critical review

Introduction

Trismus is a potentially critical morbidity following curative-intended radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients. However, in this setting, evidence regarding this side effect remains to be fully defined, particularly in terms of dosimetric parameters.

Materials and Methods

Key references were derived from a PubMed query. Hand searching and clinicaltrials.gov were also used.

Results

This paper contains a narrative report and a critical discussion of the evidence on radiation-induced trismus in the literature, particularly the dosimetric concerns.

Conclusions

The treatment goal should be to maintain high cure rates and limit the onset of complications. Further evaluations of dosimetric measures and clinical outcomes are warranted to identify patients at higher risk to target treatment tailoring.