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Updated: Jun 8, 2025
Transoral Robotic Total Thyroidectomy and Bilateral Central Regional Lymph Node Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: September 15, 2023
Impact of Transoral Robotic Surgery Versus Radiation on Swallowing Function in Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients: A
Julie A Theurer1,2,3, Rosemary Martino2,4,5,6, Nedeljko Jovanovic2
1School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
This ORATOR sub-study evaluated swallowing physiology in patients treated with transoral robotic surgery (TORS) versus radiotherapy (RT) for early-stage oropharynx cancer.
Methods:
Swallowing physiology was evaluated using videofluoroscopy and outcomes were compared across treatment arms and correlated with MDADI scores.
Results:
Of the 68 patients in the ORATOR trial, 21 participated in this sub-study (30.8%), including 15 RT Arm and six TORS Arm patients. Swallowing profiles were not significantly different between the arms. MBSImP pharyngeal scores for RT Arm versus TORS Arm patients were 4.8 (±2.1) versus 4.3 (±1.5) at baseline, 6.2 (±1.2) versus 9.6 (±4.8) at 6 months and 5.9 (±1.8) versus 8.0 (±4.7) at 12 months. MBSImP pharyngeal scores demonstrated weak associations with several MDADI subscales and PAS scores.
Conclusions:
To best describe swallowing outcomes in studies of RT and/or surgery, instrumental swallowing assessments should be strongly considered in addition to quality of life measures.
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