Retrospective cohort study of weekly cisplatin cycles and outcomes with chemoradiation in head and neck cancer

National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend weekly cisplatin as an alternative concurrent systemic therapy for definitive chemoradiation in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). However, the impact of different levels of adherence to weekly cisplatin on outcomes stratified by human papillomavirus p16 status remains unclear. A retrospective, observational, single-institution cohort study at The Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center (Columbus, OH) included patients with a diagnosis of nonmetastatic HNC who received chemoradiation. In this cohort study involving 142 patients, those with p16-negative tumors who missed weekly cisplatin cycles had lower overall survival than those who received 7 to 8 cycles, although overall survival was comparable between these groups for p16-positive tumors. Cytopenia was the most common reason for cisplatin interruption.