Grant received in 2024

DCCC has funded 200,000 DKK to the project.

New data indicate that some teeth are unnecessarily removed before starting radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. This could potentially be avoided in the presence of more knowledge about mean radiotherapy doses to specific tooth localisations.

This initiative aims to improve the treatment of head and neck cancer by reducing unnecessary tooth extractions before radiotherapy. This will be achieved through the development of an odontogram that can estimate which teeth should be removed based on retrospective data of mean doses to specific tooth localisations for patients with different tumour localisations.

The planned study is prepared by carrying out two national workshops with OMF surgeons, oncologists and radiation physicists. The first workshop will focus on a calibrated use of the odontogram. At the second workshop, the experience with the odontogram must be evaluated on the basis of data collected between the two workshops and the prospective study is planned based on this evaluation.

The DCCC funding will be used to organise the workshops, ensuring that the future use of the odontogram is grounded in solid evidence, with consensus and calibration established among practitioners. The overall aim is to provide a more consistent and improved treatment approach for Danish head and neck cancer patients.

Multidisciplinary organisation
The project is anchored in DAHANCA as part of a research collaboration between oncology and maxillofacial surgery, focusing on improving treatment quality for head and neck cancer patients through a multidisciplinary approach.

Project stakeholder

• Lone Forner, Dentist, PhD, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Zealand University Hospital. Primary contact, mail: lofo@regsj.dk
• Christian Rønn Hansen, Clinical Associate Professor (SDU), Medical Physicist, Radio Physics Laboratory & DCPT Oncology, Odense University Hospital
• Jørgen Johansen, Clinical Associate Professor (SDU), Consultant, Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital
• Kasper Stokbro, Clinical Associate Professor (SDU), Chief Dentist, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Odense University Hospital
• Jesper Grau Eriksen, Professor, Consultant, Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital
• Anne Ivalo Holm, Physicist, Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital
• Christian Lerche, Dentist, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Zealand University Hospital
• Eva Samsøe Hinsby, Chief Physicist, Department of Oncology, Zealand University Hospital
• Mohammad Farhadi, Consultant, Department of Oncologt, Zealand University Hospital