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Surgical Salvage of Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

  • Head and Neck Cancers (E Hanna, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a unique tumour which is endemic in southern China including Hong Kong. Whilst the treatment results for the primary cancer has been encouraging, management of recurrent tumours has been challenging. Compared to other surgical approaches, the maxillary swing operation provides wide access to the bilateral nasopharynx and the ipsilateral parapharyngeal space, allowing resection of tumours with adequate margins. Among the 312 patients who had received salvage nasopharyngectomy via the maxillary swing approach, the chance of achieving microscopically clear resection margins was 79.5 %. The overall local recurrence rate after surgery was 13.1 %. Multivariate analysis showed that resection margin status, synchronous nodal recurrence and cavernous sinus invasion were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. For small tumours located in the posterior wall, endoscopic resection, or more recently, the transoral robotic (TORS)-assisted approach, can be performed. Every effort should be made to ensure microscopic clearance of disease as well as to minimize the potential complications of surgery that may adversely affect the subsequent quality of life.

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Conflict of Interest

Jimmy Yu Wai Chan has received an Area of Excellence Research Grant.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, SAR, China

    Jimmy Yu Wai Chan

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  1. Jimmy Yu Wai Chan
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Correspondence to Jimmy Yu Wai Chan.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Head and Neck Cancers

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Chan, J.Y.W. Surgical Salvage of Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. Curr Oncol Rep 17, 8 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-014-0433-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-014-0433-x

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