Bloodstreaminfections after curative-intent radiotherapy for HNSCC

Patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma may become immunocompromised. A study in Denmark found 238 bloodstream infections in 5674 HNSCC patients within 18 months after curative-intent radiotherapy or chemoradiation. Risk factors for BSIs were increasing age, higher stage, and worse performance status, while sex, smoking factors, and high-grade mucositis were not associated with BSI risk. The 30-day post-BSI mortality rate was 26% (95% CI 19-32), and BSIs were involved in 10% of early non-cancer deaths.