Salvage surgery for recurrent oropharyngeal cancer after chemoradiotherapy
International Journal of Clinical Oncology, 08/01/2012
Kano S et al. – The initial treatment method for OPC should be decided carefully and the limitations of salvage surgery should be fully considered.
Methods- The data for 523 patients with previously untreated OPC were gathered from 12 institutions belonging to the Head and Neck Cancer Study Group in Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG).
- Of the 170 patients who received CRT, 35 patients (21 %) had local recurrence or residual disease.
- Only 11 patients underwent further salvage surgery, and 24 patients received nonsurgical treatment.
- There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of patient age and the presence of a simultaneous regional recurrence.
- The 5-year overall survival rates for the patients who underwent salvage surgery were 49.1 %, whereas those for the patients who received nonsurgical treatment were 16.3 %.
