Up-front neck dissection followed by chemoradiotherapy for T1-T3 hypopharyngeal cancer with advanced nodal involvement

Background The advantage of up-front neck dissection (UFND) followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) with advanced neck involvement remains controversial. We aimed to determine the indications. Methods The data of 41 and 14 patients with stage IVA/B (T1-T3 and >= N2a) HPC who underwent UFND followed by CRT and received CRT, respectively, were retrospectively analyzed and compared. Results The 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival rates for the UFND and CRT groups were 61% and 52% (p = 0.1019), and 89% and 74% (p = 0.2333), respectively. Moreover, patients aged >= 70 years or those with a pulmonary disease history had a significantly poorer prognosis due to aspiration pneumonia in the UFND group. The 5-year regional control (RC) for the UFND and CRT groups were 92% and 57%, respectively (p = 0.0001). Conclusions UFND followed by CRT was feasible with satisfactory RC. To further improve OS, aspiration pneumonia prevention is essential.