What Researchers Did
Researchers reviewed published randomised trials on the use of hyperbaric oxygen in the radiation treatment of head and neck cancers.
What They Found
The review found that hyperbaric oxygen is clinically valuable for controlling medium-sized head and neck tumours and treating lymph node disease. Four attempts to improve treatment results were reviewed, suggesting hyperbaric oxygen may be useful with nitroimidazoles as a radiation sensitizer and warrants further study with induced anaemia.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Hyperbaric oxygen could be a beneficial adjunct therapy for Canadian patients with medium-sized head and neck tumours or lymph node involvement. Further research is needed to confirm its optimal combination with other sensitizers like nitroimidazoles or induced anaemia to improve outcomes.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it is a review of international published reports.
Study Limitations
As a review, this study's conclusions are based on existing literature and highlight the need for further randomised trials to confirm optimal treatment combinations.