Radiotherapy and Smell Function in Head and Neck Cancer

Is intensity-modulated radiotherapy associated with smell function in patients with head and neck cancer over time?In this nonrandomized clinical trial including 63 patients with a normal pretreatment sense of smell, higher radiation doses to the olfactory region were associated with moderate smell dysfunction. An inflection point dose of 22 Gy was identified; doses above this point increased the odds of dysfunction by 20-fold, and some patients had lasting impairment for up to 1 year.These findings suggest that olfactory dysfunction is associated with the dose delivered to the olfactory region during intensity-modulated radiotherapy; therefore, limiting radiation exposure may reduce the risk of smell dysfunction in patients with head and neck cancer.

Corresponding Author: Miao-Fen Chen, MD, PhD, Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou and Chang Gung University, No. 5 Fu-Hsing St, Kwei-Shan, Taoyuan, Taiwan (miaofen@adm.cgmh.org.tw).

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