Abstract
In the treatment of oropharyngeal carcinoma, concomitant chemoradiotherapy using platium-based treatment schedules has yielded better results than radiotherapy alone and has been recently used by an increasing number of institutions.
In the treatment of head and neck cancer including oropharyngeal cancer, salvage operation can be performed when radiotherapy fails to obtain locoregional control in some cases treated with radiotherapy alone. Such feasibility of salvage operation has influenced the decision on treatment modality and radiotherapy tends to be selected as a first-line treatment.
However, salvage operation may be difficult to perform after concomitant chemoradiotherapy using platium-based treatments because the increased damage of the normal tissues by chemoradiotherapy may cause complications for the operation.
Therefore, closer communication and more careful discussion between head and neck surgeons and radiation oncologists has become more important when the first-line treatment is decided.
