Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2017 Nov;24(12):3494-3501.
doi: 10.1245/s10434-017-6041-x. Epub 2017 Aug 14.

Transoral Resection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Positive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx: Outcomes with and Without Adjuvant Therapy

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Transoral Resection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Positive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx: Outcomes with and Without Adjuvant Therapy

Ryan S Jackson et al. Ann Surg Oncol. 2017 Nov.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: With the rise of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), appropriate treatment strategies continue to be tailored toward minimizing treatment while preserving oncologic outcomes. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for those undergoing transoral resection with or without adjuvant therapy for HPV-related oropharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods: A case-match cohort analysis was performed at two institutions on patients with HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. All the subjects underwent transoral surgery and neck dissection. The patients treated with surgery alone were matched 1:1 to those treated with surgery and adjuvant therapy using two groups identified as confounders: T-stage (T1/2 or T3/4) and number of pathologically positive lymph nodes (≤4 or >4).

Results: The study identified 105 matched pairs, with a median follow-up period of 42 months (range 3.1-102.3 months). The patients were staged as T1/T2 (86%) or T3/4 (14%). Each group had five patients with more than four positive lymph nodes. Adjuvant therapy significantly improved disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.067; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.01-0.62) and was associated with a lower risk of local and regional recurrence (risk ratio [RR] 0.096; 95% CI 0.02-0.47). No difference in disease-specific survival (HR 0.22; 95% CI 0.02-2.57) or overall survival (HR 0.18; 95% CI 0.01-2.4) was observed with the addition of adjuvant therapy. The risk of the gastrostomy tube was higher for those receiving adjuvant therapy (RR 7.3; 95% CI 2.6-20.6).

Conclusions: Transoral surgery is an effective approach for the treatment of HPV-related oropharyngeal carcinoma. The addition of adjuvant therapy appears to decrease the risk of recurrence and improve disease-free survival but may not significantly improve overall survival.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures:

None of the authors have any conflicts of interest. There was no funding for this research. This manuscript has not been published or presented elsewhere.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Title: Kaplan Meier estimates of survival of surgery with and without adjuvant therapy. Legend: Disease free survival (A), disease specific survival (B), and overall survival (C).
Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Title: Kaplan Meier estimates of survival of surgery with and without adjuvant therapy. Legend: Disease free survival (A), disease specific survival (B), and overall survival (C).
Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Title: Kaplan Meier estimates of survival of surgery with and without adjuvant therapy. Legend: Disease free survival (A), disease specific survival (B), and overall survival (C).

References

    1. Chaturvedi AK, Engels EA, Pfeiffer RM, et al. Human papillomavirus and rising oropharyngeal cancer incidence in the United States. J. Clin. Oncol. Nov 10 2011;29(32):4294–4301. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pfister DG, Spencer S, Brizel DM, et al. Head and Neck Cancers, Version 1.2015. J. Natl. Compr. Canc. Netw. Jul 2015;13(7):847–855; quiz 856. - PMC - PubMed
    1. de Almeida JR, Byrd JK, Wu R, et al. A systematic review of transoral robotic surgery and radiotherapy for early oropharynx cancer: a systematic review. Laryngoscope. Sep 2014;124(9):2096–2102. - PubMed
    1. Moore EJ, Olsen KD, Kasperbauer JL. Transoral robotic surgery for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a prospective study of feasibility and functional outcomes. Laryngoscope. Nov 2009;119(11):2156–2164. - PubMed
    1. Haughey BH, Hinni ML, Salassa JR, et al. Transoral laser microsurgery as primary treatment for advanced-stage oropharyngeal cancer: a United States multicenter study. Head Neck. Dec 2011;33(12):1683–1694. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources