Dysphagia and aspiration after chemoradiotherapy for head-and-neck cancer: Which anatomic structures are affected and can they be spared by IMRT?

To identify the anatomic structures whose damage or malfunction cause late dysphagia and aspiration after intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) for head-and-neck cancer, and to explore whether they can be spared by intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) without compromising target RT.A total of 26 patients receiving RT concurrent with gemcitabine, a regimen associated with a high rate of late dysphagia and aspiration, underwent prospective...