Mouth opening of HNC patients who underwent radiotherapy (RT) +/- concurrent chemotherapy with radical intent between 2017 and 2021 was prospectively measured prior to RT (baseline) and at regular follow-up appointments at 15 and 30 days during RT and 3 and 6 months post-RT.
Clinical factors (Sex, Age, Diabetes, Smoke, Stage, Anatomical site, concurrent chemotherapy, previous surgery) have been investigated with respect to the decrease of mouth opening.
The Histogram Dose-Volume (DVH) of each mastication structure (mandibular condyle, choroid process, intercondylar notch, glenoid rim, masseter, temporal, lateral and medial pterygoid muscles) was extracted and data were analyzed using DVHs sum for paired structures or the only remaining structures in case of single structure (after surgery). The outcome was evaluated as the maximum decrease of mouth opening measure.
Multiple linear regression models were computed, considering multiple VDoses for each DVH sum, at 0.1 Gy step. The best performing value of Vdose for each structure was selected according to the maximum value of adjusted R2.
In multivariate analysis, the cross correlation among the selected VDose to each mastication structure was tested using the Pearson correlation test.