Background:
The purpose of this retrospective study is to compare the treatment results of locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma according to treatment modalities.
Methods:
Seventy-three patients with locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma treated at the department of therapeutic radiology, seoul national university hospital, between august 1979 and july 1997 were retrospectively analyzed. twenty-three patients were treated with radiotherapy (rt) alone, 18 patients were treated with surgery and postoperative rt, and 32 patients were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (ctx) and rt. median follow-up period was 28 months.
Results:
The overall 5-year survival rates were 15.7% for the rt alone group, 46.8% for surgery and postoperative rt group, and 43.0% for neoadjuvant ctx and rt group. the 5-year disease-free survival rates were 13.9%, 47.4%, and 30.7%, respectively. surgery and postoperative rt or neoadjuvant ctx and rt showed superiority over rt alone in terms of both overall survival and disease-free survival rates. no significant differences were found in overall and disease-free survival rates between the surgery and postoperative rt group and neoadjuvant ctx and rt group (p =.15, p =.13). in the neoadjuvant ctx and rt group, 12 patients (38%) retained their larynx more than 5 years.
Conclusion:
Neoadjuvant ctx and rt is an effective strategy to achieve organ preservation without compromising the survival of patients with locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma.