Nasopharyngectomy for Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Abstract

PATIENTS WITH recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinomas continue to challenge physicians' creativity and skill. Although there are no great options for treating metastatic disease, neck dissection is an excellent choice for treating regional recurrence after radiation therapy (XRT) when the primary site is controlled. Recurrence at the primary site has usually been treated with a second course of XRT. Until recently, surgery was considered impossible because of the inaccessible location of the nasopharynx. Lee et al1 reported that long-term survival after a second course of XRT was less than 30% and was associated with a 26% incidence of complications, including 2% therapy-related death. Such results prompted us to explore the feasibility of surgical resection. This report documents our long-term survival results.