Treatment-related side-effects of patients treated with charged particle beams for recurrent tumours of the head and neck were prospectively collected and patient data was retrospectively analysed with regard to toxicity and efficacy of the treatment according to CTCAE v. 4.03 and RECIST.
Treatment was tolerated well without any severe acute toxicity. In non-chordoma/chondrosarcoma patients, overall response rate was 53.3 % at 8 weeks post RT. 4/5 chordoma/chondrosarcoma patients showed no signs of further tumour progression.
Initial experience of re-irradiation with scanned particle beams in recurrent tumours of the head and neck seems feasible and encouraging. Further follow-up is needed to investigate potential late effects.