Salvage Endoscopic Nasopharyngectomy for Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Cancer: an Institutional Experience

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to present the surgical and oncological long-term outcomes of patients with locally recurrent nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) following endoscopic endonasal nasopharyngectomy (EEN). Methods: The medical records of 11 patients who underwent EEN due to recurrent NPC were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The mean age of the patient cohort, consisting of 10 males (90.9%) and one female (9.1%), was 44±13.01 years at the time of initial diagnosis. Seven patients (63.7%) had local recurrence, and four patients (36.3%) had loco-regional recurrence. The mean time to first recurrence from the initial diagnosis was 40.3 months, with a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of 72.7% and a disease-free survival (DFS) rate of 27.3%. There were no significant differences between the concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and induction chemotherapy+concurrent CRT treatment groups in terms of DFS and OS as a first-line treatment (p=0.645). Conclusion: EEN is a viable alternative approach for selected cases of locally recurrent NPC, considering the morbidities associated with re-irradiation.

Keywords

• nasopharyngeal carcinoma
• local neoplasm recurrence
• natural orifice endoscopic surgery
• salvage therapy
• treatment outcome
• survival analysis