Transoral robotic surgery and neck dissection for hypopharyngeal cancer: long-term prognostic factors and survival outcomes

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) with neck dissection has emerged as an organ-preserving treatment for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC), but long-term evidence remains limited. This retrospective study evaluated oncologic outcomes, prognostic factors, mortality patterns, and organ preservation in patients with T1-T3 HPSCC. From October 2010 to August 2023, 48 patients without prior upper aerodigestive tract malignancy or irradiation underwent TORS with neck dissection, with or without cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant chemoradiation. Tumor stages included T1 (37.5%), T2 (45.8%), and T3 (16.7%), and en bloc resection was achieved in all cases. Pathologic analysis revealed lymph node metastasis in 46.8% and extranodal extension in 17%. Radiotherapy to the primary hypopharynx was omitted in 60% of patients; when administered, the mean dose was approximately 60 Gy. After a mean follow-up of 5.9 ± 3.5 years, 5- and 10-year recurrence-free survival rates were both 69%, while disease-specific survival rates were 77%. Overall survival at 5 and 10 years was 77% and 59%, respectively. Survival and recurrence were significantly associated with extranodal extension in multivariable analysis (p < 0.05). Of 15 deaths, distant metastases (46.7%) and second primary malignancies (33.3%) were predominant, whereas local recurrence accounted for only 13.3%. TORS with neck dissection provides durable disease control and excellent organ preservation for T1-T3 HPSCC, allowing radiotherapy omission in selected patients, although distant metastases and secondary cancers remain major causes of late mortality.