(653) Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Treated with

Introduction: With recent advances in radiation therapy, head-to-head survival outcomes between cisplatin-based versus carboplatin-based regimens in locally advanced head and neck cancer are still being researched.

Methods: This retrospective chart review study identified 126 patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer treated with chemoradiation at Loyola over the past 10 years (2015-2025). The primary endpoint was composite disease-free survival (DFS), defined as time from diagnosis to recurrence or death. Our secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Results were analyzed between three treatment groups treated with either standard high dose cisplatin, low dose cisplatin, or carboplatin.

Results: There were no significant differences in DFS and OS between patient groups. A median follow-up of 2.4 years and a mean follow-up of 3 years was noted. Three-year disease free survival rates were 82% for high-dose cisplatin, 73% for low-dose cisplatin, and 77% for carboplatin with no significant difference between groups (p=0.68). Three-year overall survival rates were 97% for high-dose cisplatin, 96% for low-dose cisplatin, and 95% for carboplatin with no significant differences observed (p=0.91). Mean radiation dose was similar across all groups (~69 Gy).

Conclusions: In this cohort, there were no significant differences in DFS and OS between high dose cisplatin, low dose cisplatin, and carboplatin treatment groups. This data supports low dose cisplatin and carboplatin as reasonable alternatives for patients who cannot tolerate typical high dose cisplatin based therapies and are receiving concurrent modern radiation therapy techniques.