The long-term oncological and functional outcomes of transoral robotic surgery in patients with hypopharyngeal cancer

•We report the long-term outcomes of TORS in hypopharyngeal cancer.•5-year disease-specific survival rate of stage I, II and III, IV was 100.0% and 74.0%.•5-year disease-free survival rate of stage I, II and stage III, IV was 100.0% and 68.6%.•76.3% patients showed favorable swallowing status at the final evaluation.•92.1% patients could breathe and phonate without permanent tracheotomy.

ObjectiveWe conducted a prospective clinical trial of transoral robotic surgery in patients with hypopharyngeal cancer and herein report the long-term oncological and functional outcomes.Materials and methodsBetween April 2008 and March 2014, 45 patients diagnosed with hypopharyngeal cancer participated in this prospective study.ResultsAll patients were male with a mean age of 66.7 years. The median follow-up period was 60 months. Patients were classified using the staging system of the American Joint Commission on Cancer, as follows: Stage I, 7.9%; Stage II, 5.3%; Stage III, 15.8%; Stage IV, 71.1. Of all 38 patients, 17 (44.7%) were alive with no evidence of disease at the last follow-up. Seven patients (18.4%) died of TNM-related disease and fourteen (36.8%) from other causes. The 5-year disease-specific survival rate of stage I and II patients was 100.0%, and that of stage III and IV patients was 74.0%. The 5-year disease-free survival rate was 100.0% for stage I and II patients and 68.6% for stage III and IV patients.ConclusionsPatients who underwent TORS exhibited oncological outcomes comparable to those of conventional therapies and rapid functional recovery with low surgical morbidity. TORS and simultaneous neck dissection, with or without adjuvant therapy, may be effective alternatives to existing treatment methods.