Investigation of Two Swallowing Therapy Models During Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the 6th most common type of cancer in the world and has recently seen a dramatic rise in the United States due to a rise in the incidence of oropharyngeal cancers related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) . The majority of patients diagnosed with HNC receive radiation therapy at some point in their treatment, either in the definitive or post-operative setting. Dysphagia is a common consequence of treatment for HNC, experienced by approximately 50% of patients treated with radiation therapy. Post-treatment dysphagia has been associated with increased risk of morbidity/mortality as well as well-recognized deterioration of quality of life. Performance of swallowing exercises during radiation significantly reduces dysphagia risk; however, patient adherence to swallowing exercises during radiation treatment is limited. Thus, poor adherence stands as a major obstacle to achieving the best swallowing outcomes. In response to this, a mobile health application was developed to directly address barriers cited by patients as reasons for non-adherence. The objective is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the impact of the mobile application on adherence to prophylactic swallowing therapy during radiation for HNC.