Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the outcomes of patients with recurrent oral and maxillofacial cancer (OMFC) primarily treated with concurrent intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy (CCRT-HFT) and to identify the prognostic factors.
A total of 51 patients with OMFC who received definitive CCRT-HFT were included.
Of the 51 patients, 88% revealed a clinical complete response, though local recurrence occurred in 16 of 51 patients.
Of 16 patients who received salvage surgery, 6 had a local resection and 10 had a wide resection.
Successful salvage was achieved locally in 11 (69%) of the 16 patients. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the 2-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 58%, 51% and 38%, respectively.
Patients with OMFC who received reconstruction surgery using free flap following a radical resection with (42 cases) and without (105 cases) preoperative CCRT were compared.
The operation time, hemorrhage volume, complications, and rate of successful free flap were not different between the two groups.
Pathologically confirmed lymph node metastasis was the most important prognostic factor for survival.
The number of lymph node metastases and the level of metastasis were important.
Salvage surgery for patients with advanced cancer should be encouraged for selected patients. Further research is essential in order to gain the benefits of definitive CCRT.
