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. METHOD: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.