Nasopharyngectomy after failure of 2 courses of radiation therapy.

Background: Recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma after initial therapy has been reported to range between 18% and 54%. As an alternative to surgical salvage, patients with recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma are offered a second course of radiation therapy. If this second course fails, patients may be candidates for surgical resection.

Objective: To identify the effectiveness and morbidity of surgical resection of recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma in patients who have received 2 cycles of external beam radiation.

Design And Setting: Retrospective survey of 6 patients in a university-based practice who underwent resection of recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma after 2 courses of radiation therapy.

Patients: Our study group comprised 4 women and 2 men aged between 35 and 67 years. All patients underwent 2 courses of radiation with a mean total dose of 11 500 rad (115 Gy) (range, 9500-13 200 rad [95-132 Gy]) delivered to the nasopharynx prior to resection. The mean duration between the second course of radiation and resection is 21 months (range, 8-52 months). The mean follow-up period is 7.2 years (range, 4.2-11.5 years).

Intervention: Nasopharyngectomy after failure of 2 courses of radiation therapy.

Main Outcome Measures: Postoperative clinical outcome and morbidity.

Results: Five years after resection, 1 patient died of disease. The remaining 5 patients (83%) are alive with no evidence of disease. Osteomyelitis is the most common complication, affecting 5 patients. Three of the 5 patients with osteomyelitis required operative debridement of the nasopharynx and split-thickness skin grafting. Other complications include oronasal fistula (2 patients), chronic otitis media (2 patients), and nasopharyngeal stenosis (1 patient).

Conclusion: Although poor wound healing is evident, the overall 5-year survival of 83% is encouraging.