Introduction:

Oropharyngeal cancer is a neoplasm with a high incidence in the head and neck region. Despite its location being easily visible during physical examination and advances in its diagnosis, oropharyngeal cancer is often detected at advanced stages. As primary therapeutic strategies, in the context of advanced disease, surgery and/or radiotherapy may be considered as treatments.

Methodology:

The aim of this study was to analyze the survival of patients with advanced oropharyngeal cancer (stages III and IV of the TNM) who received intended curative treatment with radiotherapy. Thirty-one patients from the Dr. Manuel Quintela Clinics Hospital, who were evaluated in the radiotherapy and otolaryngology clinics between 2013 and 2022, were studied.

Results:

The patients were mostly smokers, alcoholics, male, with an average age of 60 years. A 5-year overall survival rate of 67,7% (95% CI 47,6 – 84,9) was observed. The mean overall survival at 5 years was 66,3 months (95% CI 47,6 – 84,9). The median overall survival was not reached in the study. Disease persistence after radiotherapy treatment was the only factor that significantly influenced survival. Univariate analysis using Log-Rank showed a mean of 92,3 months (95% CI 77,9 - 106,7) for patients without disease persistence vs. 7,5 months (95% CI 4,9 - 10) with a median of 8 months (95% CI 3 - 12,9) for patients with disease persistence (p< 0,001).

Conclusions:

The observed survival may be due to the small number of patients included in the study. Incomplete tumor response to treatment proved to be the most relevant factor in survival. The follow-up of these patients is of utmost importance since all deaths were recorded within the first 24 months after diagnosis.

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