A prospective, nonrandomized study of the impact of amifostine on subsequent hypothyroidism in irradiated patients with head and neck cancers

The daily administration of subcutaneous amifostine to patients with head and neck cancers before each radiation fraction may reduce the long-term incidence of hypothyroidism (HT) after radiotherapy to the neck and may provide an additional indication for amifostine (Ethyol) use. Cancers of the head and neck afflict 40,000 patients yearly in the United States, and radiotherapy plays a pivotal role in the management of at least half of these patients. Patients commonly are treated with radiation alone, combined surgery and radiation, or definitive chemoradiotherapy. Local control of disease is achieved in many patients who are at risk for late sequelae of treatment that may diminish quality of life.