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Association between tonsillectomy and oropharyngeal cancer risk: a retrospective cohort study

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Abstract 

Background

The purpose of this retrospective cohort study is to describe the association between the history of tonsillectomy and the risk of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSSC), using a large cohort of patients.

Materials and methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study with 3620 patients diagnosed with OPٍSCC from 2010 to 2021. We utilized the University of Florida patients’ registry i2b2 system. Three subsets of OPSSC were defined, base of tongue(BOT) cancer, tonsillar cancer, and other OPSSC. Tumor demographics and history of tonsillectomy were collected. Odds ratio for OPSSC were assessed utilizing a logistic regression model with adjusting for gender, race, and age. P < 0.05 was deemed significant.

Results

Of the 3620 OPSSC patients were BOT cancer (N = 964), tonsillar cancer (N = 995), and other OPSSC (N = 1661). There was a statistically significant reduction in tonsillar cancer and BOT cancer odds ratio in patients with a history of tonsillectomy vs. patients without tonsillectomy (0.086 and 0.117), respectively, with a P value < .0001. The odds ratio of OPSSC in patients with a history of tonsillectomy vs. patients without tonsillectomy is 1.031.

Conclusion

This study showed that the OPSSC and previous history of tonsillectomy are associated. Our results showed a significant reduction in BOT and tonsillar cancer risk in patients with a history of tonsillectomy and an insignificant decrease in other OPSSC. This study could emphasize the importance of the development of future clinical trials to investigate the role of prophylactic tonsillectomy as a secondary preventive strategy to reduce OPSSC.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Deepak Kademani, DDS, MD, for assistance with research development.

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Author notes

  1. Hamad Alharbi and Wafaa Saleh contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Hamad Alharbi

  2. Oral Medicine, Periodontology, Diagnosis and Oral Radiology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

    Wafaa Saleh

  3. Department of Biostatistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Sijia Yue

  4. Division of Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery and Microvascular Reconstruction, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 32225, USA

    Rui P. Fernandes

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  1. Hamad Alharbi
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  4. Rui P. Fernandes
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Contributions

WS and HA: conceptualization, methodology, resources; writing, original draft; and review and editing.

S Y: data curation, formal analysis, and methodology.

RF: methodology, resources, supervision, and review and editing.

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Correspondence to Hamad Alharbi.

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Alharbi, H., Saleh, W., Yue, S. et al. Association between tonsillectomy and oropharyngeal cancer risk: a retrospective cohort study. Oral Maxillofac Surg 28, 299–305 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-023-01139-5

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