Background: To evaluate patterns of blood pressure (BP) changes in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving radiation (RT)/chemo-radiation (CRT) METHODS: This study included data collection, compilation, and analysis of 451 consecutive HNC patients who underwent RT/CRT.
Results: Out of 451 patients, 376 (82%) were male and 75 (18%) were female with a median age of 52 years. Patients receiving 3DCRT experienced greater fall in BP, including for SBP and MAP, compared to those receiving IMRT-IGRT. Female patients experienced greater fall in diastolic BP as compared to male patients (p: 0.03). At the end of treatment, we observed a significant association between a fall in systolic BP (decrease by 10% of baseline) and weight loss of more than 10% of baseline weight (p: 0.03).
Conclusion: Fall in BP during RT/CRT is significantly affected by treatment technique and sex and is strongly associated with significant weight loss.
Keywords: blood pressure; head & neck cancer; hypertension; radiotherapy; weight loss.
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