Treatment outcome of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma through propensity score analysis

According to an extensive database, the Objective is to compare surgical versus non-surgical treatment through Propensity Score (PS) for patients with Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated epidemiological data from 8075 patients with OPSCC diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 and used PS matching to analyze possible prognostic factors for its outcomes with regression analyses. RESULTS: Cox multiple regression analysis to study survival after PS matching shows that type of treatment was associated with death with a hazard ratio of 1.753 (p < 0.05) of non-surgical treatment. However, it was not associated with recurrence (p > 0.05). In the surgical treatment group, overall survival was 79.9% at one year, 36.4% at five years, and 20.5% at ten years. Disease-free survival was 90.1%, 64.8%, and 56.0% at 1, 5, and 10-years, respectively. In the non-surgical treatment group, overall survival was 60.6% at one year, 21.8% at five years, and 12.7% at ten years. Disease-free survival was 90.8%, 67.2%, and 57.8% at 1, 5, and 10-years, respectively. CONCLUSION: Patients in the surgical treatment group had better outcomes related to survival. Recurrence is associated with the survival of OPSCC cancer. Recurrence-free survival is similar to both treatments. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2C.