2013 Volume 136 Pages 21-26
Based on the 5 years from January 2007 to December 2011, a retrospective study was performed on 76 patients (group A) with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated in our department, 72 males and 4 females, median age 67 years (ages ranging from 45 to 83 years). Four cases were in stage I, 10 in stage II, 10 in stage III and 52 in stage IV. As for the primary treatment, 34 of 76 patients were treated with surgery, and 42 patients were treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or irradiation alone. The 3-year disease-specific survival rate (Kaplan-Meier method) was 63.3%, and there was clearly a poor prognosis for Stage IV patients. We compared the results with those from 144 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx who were treated from 1978 to 2002 (group B) that was previously reported by our hospital. The rates of the 3-year survival for patients from group A and group B were 60% and 46%, respectively. CRT for hypopharyngeal cancer was thought not have enough strength, and the introduction of the neoadjuvant -chemotherapy will be considered in patients with locally advanced disease. Hypopharyngeal cancer is often to be found in advanced cancer at the time of treatment, and it is necessary to determine the risk and treat appropriately. However, further investigation is required on new therapeutic strategies for advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma.
