A comparison of outcomes for early oropharyngeal cancers treated with single-modality surgery versus radiotherapy.

Publication/Presentation Date

7-1-2014

Abstract

AIMS: We retrospectively compared results of surgery alone (SX) or radiotherapy alone (RT) for early stage tonsil and base of tongue cancers.

MATERIALS & METHODS: Outcomes for 386 SX and 362 RT patients from Surveillance, Epidemiology and End RESULTS database were analyzed using propensity covariate adjusted and inverse probability weighting models.

RESULTS: With median follow-up of 71 months, unadjusted overall survival at 5 years was 66.1% for SX versus 50.2% for RT (p < 0.001). Unadjusted cancer-specific survival was 80.9% for SX versus 67.3% for RT (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, treatment modality maintained association with overall survival and cancer-specific survival. Inverse probability weighting-adjusted 5-year overall survival was 75.2% for SX versus 67.4% for RT (p = 0.002). Inverse probability weighting-adjusted cancer-specific survival was 86.0% for SX versus 77.4% for RT (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Explanations for higher survival for SX include comorbidities, superiority of surgery and underascertainment of postoperative radiation in Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results.

Volume

3

Issue

4

First Page

387

Last Page

397

ISSN

2042-6313

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

25275235

Department(s)

Department of Surgery

Document Type

Article

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