Eliminating radiotherapy to the contralateral retropharyngeal and high level II lymph nodes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is safe and improves quality of life

BACKGROUND Radiation treatment volumes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are controversial. The authors report the outcomes, patterns of failure, and quality of life (QOL) of patients who received treatment for HNSCC using intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) that eliminated the treatment of contralateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RPLNs) in the clinically uninvolved neck. METHODS A prospective institutional database was...