Premium
Functional and quality‐of‐life outcomes of transoral robotic surgery for carcinoma of unknown primary
Author(s) -
Durmus Kasim,
Patwa Hafiz S.,
Gokozan Hamza N.,
Kucur Cuneyt,
Teknos Theodoros N.,
Agrawal Amit,
Old Matthew O.,
Ozer Enver
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.24705
Subject(s) - medicine , transoral robotic surgery , quality of life (healthcare) , observational study , surgery , pathological , carcinoma , occult , prospective cohort study , robotic surgery , head and neck cancer , radiation therapy , nursing , alternative medicine , pathology
Objectives/Hypothesis To determine speech, eating, aesthetics, social disruption, and overall quality‐of‐life outcomes over a year period in patients who underwent transoral robotic surgery as part of carcinoma of unknown primary diagnosis and treatment. Study Design Observational prospective study. Methods Twenty‐two patients who underwent transoral robotic surgery for the management of carcinoma of unknown primary were included. Patients prospectively completed the Head and Neck Cancer Inventory during a preoperative visit, and at 3‐week, 3‐month, 6‐month, and 12‐month postoperative visits. Patients' demographic, pathological, and follow‐up information were also collected. Results The mean follow‐up time was 19.8 months. There were overall declines in all quality of life scores during treatment period, which was followed by a continuous recovery. The scores immediately after transoral robotic surgery (3 weeks) were significantly higher than the scores after conclusion of adjuvant therapy (3 months) in multiple domains ( P < .05) and the 6‐month scores in speech ( P = .02) and eating ( P = .008) domains. All scores, except for eating ( P = .01) returned to pretreatment levels at 1 year. Patients with detected primaries displayed similar quality‐of‐life scores compared to patients with occult primaries. Human papillomavirus status and type of adjuvant treatment had no significant impact on quality of life. Conclusions Transoral robotic surgery is a promising, minimally invasive procedure for the surgical management of carcinoma of unknown primary. Patients maintain high functional and quality‐of‐life status at 1 year after surgery. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope , 124:2089–2095, 2014