title: Treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the posterior pharyngeal wall: Radiotherapy versus surgery.
abstract: Treatment strategy in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the posterior pharyngeal wall is still being debated.
  
  
  
  We performed a retrospective analysis according to delivered treatment.
  
  
  
  One hundred eighty patients were treated between 1997 and 2011. Eighty-nine patients (49.4%) received surgery +/- radiotherapy (RT), whereas 91 (50.6%) received definitive RT +/- chemoradiotherapy (RT/CRT). Five-year overall survival (OS) was 33.4%. There was a significant 5-year OS benefit in surgical treatment versus RT/CRT (43% vs 24.1%; p = .002). Multivariate analysis showed that current smokers, T3 to T4 classification, well-differentiated SCC, and nonsurgical treatment were associated with reduced OS. Subgroup analysis showed significant survival benefit of surgical treatment compared with RT/CRT in patients with T1 to T2 but not in T3 to T4 disease.
  
  
  
  Surgical management translated into a survival benefit, even in early T classification. These results should be interpreted with caution for selection bias. Surgery remains the standard of care in localized posterior pharyngeal wall SCC. Primary CRT should be considered for nonoperable disease. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1722-E1729.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.|Department of Radiotherapy, Policlinico Umberto I "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Felice
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.|Université Paris-Sud, Faculté de Médecine Kremlin Bicêtre, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.|Université Paris-Sud, Faculté de Médecine Kremlin Bicêtre, France.
authors.forename: Antonin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: France
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gorphe
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Janot
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Temam
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Yungan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: head and neck cancer; posterior pharyngeal wall; radiotherapy; squamous cell carcinoma; surgery