title: Value of radiation therapy in addition to surgery for cancer of the head and neck.
abstract: This historically controlled study evaluates radiation therapy in 119 patients--with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck--who underwent surgery alone (SA) or surgery plus radiation (S + R). The primary tumor control and nodal control, in patients with negative surgical margins who had surgery alone (SA), were 63% in the oral cavity, 60% in the oropharynx, and 67% in the hypopharynx. The same rates for S + R group and negative surgical margins were 100%, 73%, and 100%. Combining the patients with negative and positive surgical margins, control of the tumor and nodal control were the same in the oral cavity for both treatment groups (41% for SA and 44% for S + R) and increased with the addition of radiation in the oropharynx (30% for SA to 65% for S + R) and hypopharynx (33% for SA to 86% for S + R), in spite of higher percentages of T3 and T4 tumor and positive lymph nodes in the S + R group. The lower control rate in patients who had surgery alone could be due (in part) to inadequate surgery at the primary site (42% local excision) and lack of neck dissection (35% for SA vs. 77% for S + R). Postoperative radiation therapy to the primary site and neck is shown to effectively reduce local recurrence in patients with oral cavity and oropharynx cancer, regardless of surgical margins.
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007012:Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011182:Postoperative Care