Practical considerations in reducing swallowing dysfunction following concurrent chemoradiotherapy with intensity‐modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

Data have emerged that the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radiation can lead to swallowing dysfunction that may have an impact on patient quality of life and lead to significant morbidities such as poor nutritional status, enteral feeding tube dependence, and aspiration pneumonia. Although intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer was initially developed to spare the parotid gland to reduce xerostomia,...