Epidemiological assessment and therapeutic response in hypopharyngeal cancer.
Despite the low incidence, diagnostic and therapeutic advances, hypopharyngeal cancer still has high mortality.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate retrospectively the epidemiological profile and response to surgery and radiation/chemotherapy of patients with hypopharyngeal cancer.


METHODS
We reviewed the medical records of 114 patients treated between 2002 and 2009 in a tertiary hospital with histopathological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma.


RESULTS
The mean age of the patients was 57 years, 94.7% were males and 5.3% females, 98.2% were smokers and 92% consumed alcohol; 72% are illiterate or did not complete first grade schooling. The main complaints were: neck node (28%), pain and dysphagia (22%), odynophagia (12.2%), dysphonia (7.8%). The clinical staging was: I (1.7%), II (3.5%), III (18.4%), IV (76.3%). The treatment was carried out with radiotherapy and chemotherapy alone in 35%, with mean 2-year survival of 20% and 5-year survival of 18%; surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy in 22.8% with 2-year survival of 60.0% and 5 years of 55.0%; chemotherapy alone in 2.6%, and 39.4% without treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Most patients already had advanced clinical stages and independent of the treatment option, had a low survival rate, confirming the poor prognosis of this neoplasm.
Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Medical School of the University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Ali
A
Amar
Otávio Alberto
OA
Curioni
Diógenes Lopes de
DL
Paiva
Abrão
A
Rapoport
Rogério Aparecido
RA
Dedivitis
Claudio Roberto
CR
Cernea
Lenine Garcia
LG
Brandão
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007012:Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome