Radiotherapy as nose preservation treatment strategy for cancer of the nasal vestibule: The Dutch experience

Highlights: • Brachytherapy (BT) provided superior 3-year local control over EBRT (95% vs 71%). • Survival with preserved nose was significantly higher after BT compared to EBRT. • Late toxicity mainly comprised grade 1–2 ulcers and was transient in 50% of cases. • Tumor diameter >1.5 cm and T2-stage predicted worse regional control. Primary radiotherapy is often preferred for early-stage cancer of the nasal vestibule (CNV), combining high disease control with preservation of nasal anatomy. However, due to practice variation and an absence of comparative trials, no consensus exists on preference for brachytherapy (BT) or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). We compared these modalities in terms of disease control, nose preservation rates and toxicity.