Oncological outcome following TORS in HPV negative supraglottic carcinoma

The aim of this study was to determine the oncological and functional outcomes following transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in human papilloma virus negative supraglottic cancers.

A prospective observational study at a tertiary cancer care center, New Delhi, India.

From February, 2013 to December, 2015, 45 patients with supraglottic lesions underwent TORS using the da Vinci® surgical system.

Forty-five patients underwent TORS for supraglottic laryngectomy (SGL), with all patients undergoing bilateral neck dissection. The most common site was Ary-epiglottic fold. 47.9% were cT1 and 52.1% were cT2. Average robotic set-up time was 8.8 min and average robotic operative time was 42.9 min. A positive or close margin was seen in 12 patients (26.7%) on frozen, which were revised intraoperatively. On final histology, 3 (6.7%) patients had a margin of <5 mm. The average closest margin was 5.7 mm. Patients tolerated oral feeds within 2 weeks of procedure. All patients were HPV negative. Postoperatively, all patients had adequate swallowing and speech. Follow-up ranged from 24 to 58 months. Thirty-eight (84.4%) patients were alive and disease free.

TORS is a safe, feasible, minimally invasive, and oncologically safe procedure in patients with early HPV supraglottic cancers. It has less morbidity and offers benefits in terms of early airway and feeding rehabilitation and avoids complications resulting from radiation therapy for these patients.