Abstract

Patients undergoing radical treatment particularly chemoradiotherapy for cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract frequently experience progressive deterioration in swallow during and immediately after treatment. It is important to identify patients at high risk of compromised feeding early, following diagnosis, so that alternate feeding routes, such as percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomies (PEGs), can be promptly and prophylactically instituted, in keeping with the UK Head and Neck Cancer Guidelines (2016).