ABSTRACT
Breakdown of the swallowing function brings both the inability to intake food and the risk of food penetration in the airways rather than in the upper aerodigestive tract. Swallowing is an extremely complex function involving voluntary and involuntary stages of several structures. The risk of dysphagia is related to several non-dosimetric variables that should be taken into consideration when interpreting dose/volume data. The strategy of sparing the medial retropharyngeal nodes from target volumes has been endorsed in the recently updated head and neck cancer nodal outlining consensus guidelines. The analysis of dose-volume data relates to the question regarding the most important anatomic structures whose dysfunction after chemo-radiotherapy causes dysphagia. Voice is defined as the sound originating from the vibration of the vocal cords/folds. Voice quality depends on both the myoelastic characteristics of the vocal folds and the resonances and characteristics of the vocal tract.
