Impact of preepiglottic space tumor involvement on concurrent chemoradiation therapy

PurposeThe aim of the study was to determine the prognostic impact of preepiglottic space (PES) involvement on local failure after concurrent chemoradiation therapy for squamous cell carcinoma.Materials and methodsRetrospective chart review of patients who underwent concurrent chemoradiation therapy for T3 or T4 laryngeal, T4 hypopharyngeal, and T3 or T4 oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma were eligible for inclusion. Patients were then stratified by the presence or absence of PES tumor involvement. A multivariate analysis was performed on the presence of recurrence using the following pretreatment variables: PES involvement, tumor extent, pathologic cell differentiation, lymph node involvement, age, and sex.ResultsA total of 102 patients were included in the study. Twenty-seven (28%) patients had documented PES involvement. Mean follow-up for all patients was 46 months. Involvement of the PES was not significantly associated with local tumor persistence or recurrence (P = .69). No other variables significantly impacted tumor recurrence.ConclusionPreepiglottic space involvement does not negatively impact local tumor control after concurrent chemoradiation therapy.