[Oropharyngeal cancer: the aspects of surgical treatment]

The objective of the present study was to estimate the effectiveness of chemoradiotherapy and surgical treatment of the patients presenting with oropharyngeal cancer depending on the character of the tumorigenic process, the intensity of radiotherapy, and time of the surgical intervention. The study included 47 patients who underwent routine clinical examination, endoscopic study, contrast-enhanced computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and evaluation of oropharyngeal conditions under general anesthesia. It was shown that the mode of surgical approach (largely median mandibulotomy) is of primary importance for the surgical intervention in the oropharyngeal region and its plastic reconstruction. The surgical intervention on the regional lymph collector following chemotherapy for oropharyngeal cancer with the excellent clinical effect was performed 2 months after the persisting tumorigenic process in cervical lymph nodes had been confirmed. In the patients with operable metastases of squamous- cell carcinoma in the cervical lymph nodes and the absence of the identified primary site of the neoplastic growth, the surgical intervention was followed by dynamic observations. In the case of discovery of the primary oropharyngeal tumour, the course of radical chemotherapy was prescribed. It is concluded that precise evaluation of the extent of the tumour is indispensable for the targeted choice of the patients with recurrent oropharyngeal cancer for the surgical treatment.