Sudden death after operation, radiotherapy, or chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer

Aim: The purpose of this report was to determine sudden death following operation, radiotherapy (RT), or chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck cancer. Material and methods: Data from 729 consecutive patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer (confirmed using multiple modalities) who underwent operation, RT, or CRT at Kagoshima University Hospital between April 2011, and March 2020 were analyzed. A total of 199 patients underwent operation, 223 patients underwent RT and 307 underwent CRT. A total of 175 patients who received operation, 118 patients who received RT, and 190 who received CRT showed a complete response. Results: There were 13 cases of sudden death reported in 10 years. 12 were male and 1 was female. Sudden death occurred in 3/175 patients (1.7%) who received operation, 4/118 (3.4%) who received RT, and 6/190 (3.1%) who received CRT. Conclusions: We present the first report on cases of sudden death after operation, RT, and CRT for head and neck cancer. Otolaryngologists should still follow these patients carefully after such a treatment given that sudden death does occur in some patients.