DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i04.053

Pages: 1499-1503

Radiotherapy is one of the most important modalities of treatment in cancer of the head and neck region. Collateral damage to surrounding tissues and vital organs is inevitable in radiotherapy. The thyroid and parathyroid gland come within the field of radiation in case of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. This study aims to evaluate the effect of radiotherapy on the function of thyroid and parathyroid gland. The objective was to study the effect of radiotherapy on thyroid and parathyroid gland functions in head and neck cancer patients. We conducted a one year prospective study taking diagnosed cases of head and neck cancer with radiotherapy as the primary modality of treatment. The evaluation of PTH, thyroid function test and calcium was done prior to the start, immediately after completion and 6 months after completion of radiotherapy. The results were compared thereafter. The study included 25 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer with radiotherapy as the primary treatment.