Acute toxicities
All possible side effects were documented for each patient. Acute toxic effects were very mild and did not reach grade 4. The most common grade 1-2 toxicities included oropharyngeal mucositis, RT-related dermatitis, xerostomia and pharyngo-esophagitis, which were less severe than those of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) (Supplementary Table 3). Acute toxicities were significantly improved 1 month after radiotherapy compared to those observed at the end of radiotherapy. Some patients treated with CCRT showed different degrees of bone marrow toxicity. After full radiotherapy, patients’ average weight loss was 10.6%, varying from 0% to 20.4 %. Through the analysis between groups, there is no statistically significant side effect among the degree of carotid artery invasion.