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Topical superoxide dismutase in posttreatment fibrosis in patients with head and neck cancer
Author(s) -
Landeen Kelly C.,
Spanos William C.,
Gromer Laurie
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.25119
Subject(s) - medicine , head and neck cancer , fibrosis , superoxide dismutase , placebo , chemoradiotherapy , head and neck , cancer , oncology , gastroenterology , surgery , pathology , oxidative stress , alternative medicine
Background Topical superoxide dismutase (SOD) has been shown to decrease postradiation fibrosis in some cancers but has not demonstrated an effect in patients with head and neck cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine if topical SOD is an effective treatment for postradiation neck fibrosis. Methods This was a randomized prospective blinded clinical study of topical SOD versus placebo for the treatment of neck fibrosis. Measures of fibrosis grade and quality of life were obtained at baseline and after 3 months of treatment. Results Improvement in fibrosis score was comparable between the 2 study arms at 3 months. Conclusion Both study groups showed improvement but the differences between groups was not statistically significant. Topical SOD likely has limited benefit for posttreatment neck fibrosis but this study confirms other published evidence of benefit from active physical therapy of posttreatment fibrosis in patients with head and neck cancer.