Survival differences between definitive radiotherapy and surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy in supraglottic and hypopharyngeal carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Organ preservation has long been a consideration in the treatment of supraglottic and hypopharyngeal carcinoma to improve the quality of life (QOL). Definitive radiotherapy (DRT) with or without systematic treatment, such as chemotherapy, is always the first choice to achieve improved QOL. This retrospective study focused on the survival differences between DRT and surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (S + RT) in supraglottic and hypopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS: This study included adult patients with supraglottic or hypopharyngeal carcinoma undergoing single-modality treatment with either DRT or S + RT between January 2012 and August 2016. A total of 59 patients were identified, of whom 31 were treated with DRT, and 28 were treated with S + RT. In the 31 cases of DRT, 23 cases were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT), one case was treated with DRT plus cetuximab, and seven cases were treated with DRT alone. Of the other 28 cases of S + RT, 15 cases were treated with adjuvant concurrent CRT. Survival analysis was used to compare the overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) between DRT and S + RT groups. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 20 months (range, 4–67 months). The patients of the two groups were similar with respect to mean age, original sites, and tumor stages. The 1-, 2-, and 5-year OS rates were 80.6%, 53.4%, and 24.7% for the DRT group and 85.7%, 67.1%, and 24.7% for the S + RT group, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups (χ(2) = 3.183, P = 0.074). The 1-, 2-, and 5-year LRFS and DMFS were 90.4%, 61.7%, and 18.0% and 87.4%, 49.2%, and 9.9%, respectively, and no statistical difference was observed between the two groups (LRFS: χ(2) = 0.028, P = 0.868; DMFS: χ(2) = 3.347, P = 0.067). No significant difference was found between the two groups in acute radiotoxicity. CONCLUSION: Without loss of laryngeal function, the survival of DRT is comparable to that of S + RT in supraglottic and hypopharyngeal carcinoma.