Incidence of hospitalization in patients with head and neck cancer treated with intensity‐modulated radiation therapy

Background Patients with primary head and neck cancer managed with radiation therapy (RT) +/‐ chemotherapy may experience significant treatment‐related toxicities. We assessed hospitalization as a metric for severe treatment‐related toxicities and evaluated patient and treatment factors for possible association. Methods A retrospective review was performed on 147 patients with head and neck cancer treated with definitive or adjuvant intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) +/‐ chemotherapy. Multiple Poisson regression model was used to analyze relationships between patient or treatment factors and number of hospital stays during RT and within 8 weeks after RT. Results Multivariate analysis showed preexisting diabetes or pulmonary disease, primary carcinoma of oral cavity, and prescribed radiation dose ( p  < .05) were associated with increased number of patient hospital stays during or shortly after RT. Conclusion We found that 34.7% of patients experienced a chemoradiation toxicity‐related hospitalization during or shortly after treatment. Prior pulmonary disease, diabetes, and increasing prescribed radiation dose were associated with increased hospital stays. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 1750–1755, 2015