Transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) is a promising, minimally invasive alternative for treating advanced oropharyngeal cancer, according to researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine (Head & Neck, January 31, 2011).
Nonsurgical modalities are sometimes advocated as the standard of care for advanced oropharyngeal tumors, the researchers noted, but the results have been "modest." This prompted them to consider TLM as the primary treatment for advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma.
They analyzed outcomes data from 204 patients with stage III and IV tonsil or tongue base cancer who were treated primarily with TLM between 1996 and 2006 at three centers with minimum two-year follow-up.
Mean follow-up was 49 months, and 79.4% of patients were alive, the researchers noted. Three-year overall survival was 86%, disease-specific survival was 88%, and disease-free survival was 82%.
"TLM as a primary treatment for advanced oropharyngeal malignancy confers excellent survival and swallowing proficiency," the researchers concluded.
