Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study is to review the treatment results for stage IV oropharyngeal cancer at Cancer Institute Hospital of Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research in Tokyo. Patients & Methods: Two hundred and eight cases with stage IV oropharngeal cancer were treated from 1971 to 2003. All cases were irradiated 40Gy followed by surgery when the primary site remained or followed by full dose radiation when it disappeared clinically. Results: Treatment results improved after a microvascular flap was used for head and neck reconstruction. Among 208 cases, 91 cases were radically irradiated and 117 cases underwent surgery. There was no significant difference between local control rates of two modalities. But surgery provided a superior outcome in T 3/4. More than half of the cases with stage IV base of tongue cancer or T 4 had total laryngectomy. Conclusion: Surgery is regarded to be an optimal treatment for stage IV oropharyngeal cancer if the postoperative function is preserved.
