Abstract
A 48-year-old man who was diagnosed with p16 positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma （T1N1M0） underwent chemoradiotherapy （CRT） with cisplatin. Two months after the treatment, he started to have pharyngeal pain and progressive mucosal ulcer and was diagnosed with radionecrosis in the oropharynx. Six months after the treatment, he was hospitalized and received systemic administration of corticosteroids, antibiotics and prostaglandin, and nutritional support including HMB/Arg/Gln. He also underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy （HBO）, and debridement of necrotic tissue in the pharyngeal necrotic lesion was performed. The combined treatment was successful and the radionecrosis healed in 2 months.
Radionecrosis in the oropharynx after CRT is extremely rare; however, it could be a life-threatening complication unless appropriate treatment is conducted. We experienced a rare case of oropharyngeal radionecrosis treated according to the treatment protocol for laryngeal radionecrosis. In this case, oral administration of antibiotics, steroids and prostaglandin was ineffective. Multidisciplinary treatment including local debridement, nutritional support and HBO should be conducted for such cases at the appropriate timing to avoid severe complications.
