Definitive radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the pyriform sinus

Abstract

Background and purposeTo report the long-term results after definitive radiotherapy (RT) for pyriform sinus squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Material and methodsThe data concerning all patients treated for pyriform sinus SCC with RT with a curative intent between 1990 and 2006 were reviewed. ResultsA total of 249 patients were included. The median follow-up is 6.5years. Overall 123 patients had relapsed. For the entire population, the 5-year local control, regional control, freedom-from-distant metastasis, and overall survival rate were 68%, 69%, 78% and 38%, respectively. The 5-year local control rate for the 107 T1–T2 tumors was 85% (95% confidence interval (CI): 75–91). N stage was the main risk factor for the development of distant metastases, with a hazard ratio of 8.9 (95% CI: 2.1–39) and 15.6 (95% CI: 3.6–67.8) for N2 and N3 patients respectively. For patients with N2–N3 disease, pre-RT neck dissection improved regional control but not overall survival. Moderate to severe late complications occurred in 50 patients (28% of the patients without local relapse). ConclusionA high local control rate can be achieved when treating T1–T2 hypopharynx cancers with definitive radiotherapy. The high rate of nodal and distant relapses among patients with N2–N3 disease warrants intensification of therapy.