Abstract

Fifty-nine patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hyphopharynx were treated at Seoul National University Hospital between October 1979 and December 1992. Of these, l8 patients received radiotherapy alone, 17 patients received planned surgery with neck dissection, followed by post-operative radiotherapy, and 24 patients received radiotherapy following 2 or 3 cycles of FP chemotherapy. A median follwo-up period was 41 months, ranged from 25 months to 129 months. The majority of the patients(94.9%, 56/59) was diagnosed with stage III(19%) or IV(75.9%). The overall survival at 5 years for all patients was 29%,with a median survival of 29 months. The 5-year survival rate was 15% on radiotherapy alone, 35% on surgery and postoperative radiotherapy, and 33% on 2 cyles of FP regimens followed by radiotherapy(p=0.001). However, the survival rates between surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy following radiotherapy was not statistically significant, but voice preservation and swallowing function is superior with chemotherapy following radiotherapy. Although there was no randomized studies of surgery and postoperative radiotherapy versus chemothrapy following radiotherapy, nonsurgical management of advanced hypopharyngeal cancer employing chemothrapy and radiotherapy is preferred to radical surgery for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx.

• Keywords: Hypopharyngeal carcinoma, Radiotherapy only, Combination therapy