Transoral Robotic Surgery in Oropharyngeal Carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
The incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma has increased during the past decade and is related primarily to the human papillomavirus. This change in etiology, from tobacco and alcohol to human papillomavirus, has resulted in improved survival for the disease. In the United States, open resection had largely been replaced by concurrent chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy by the early 2000s. The advent of transoral surgery has led to an increase in surgery as the primary treatment for both early- and advanced-stage oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma because it has potential advantages over open surgery and nonsurgical modalities.


OBJECTIVE
To provide an overview of transoral robotic surgery for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and contrast it with other surgical and nonsurgical modalities.


METHODS
Articles from 2000 to 2014 were accessioned on PubMed and reviewed for utility by the primary authors.


CONCLUSIONS
Transoral surgery has become more commonly used as a minimally invasive approach to treat oropharyngeal tumors. Other strategies, including radiation, chemotherapy with radiation, and open surgery, are still important treatment approaches. The treatment options for an individual patient rely on multiple factors, including the tumor location and size, features of the tumor, and patient comorbidities. The continued study of these techniques is important to match the patient with the most appropriate treatment.
Samuel N
SN
Helman
Thomas
T
Schwedhelm
Sameep
S
Kadakia
Yanhua
Y
Wang
Bradley A
BA
Schiff
From the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary-Mount Sinai Health System, New York, New York (Drs Helman and Kadakia); Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York (Mr Schwedhelm); and the Departments of Pathology (Dr Wang) and Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (Drs Schiff and Smith), Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
Richard V
RV
Smith
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011788:Quality of Life; D065287:Robotic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome