Our job as oncologists is to arm patients with an understanding of their disease and therapeutic options, but they are the ones who ultimately make all treatment decisions. This retrospective matched cohort study examined what happened to 41 patients who were candidates for yet declined adjuvant (chemo)radiation following resection of a high-risk oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma at a single center in Berlin. Indeed, while recurrence rates among 41 matched controls who received recommended adjuvant therapy was 27% at two years, it was a whopping 61% for those who forewent adjuvant therapy—a discrepancy patients should fully consider prior to decidedly declining recommended post-operative treatment for this disease. | Mrosk, JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2023
