MONDAY, July 10, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Endoscopic-assisted transoral surgery (TOS) is less effective for superficial cancer of the pharyngoesophageal junction (PEJ), with significantly higher frequency of stricture and local recurrence compared with TOS of other sites in the hypopharynx, according to a study published online June 23 in Head & Neck.

Yasuaki Furue, M.D., from the National Cancer Center Hospital East in Kashiwa, Japan, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study to compare clinical outcomes of endoscopic-assisted TOS for superficial PEJ cancers (group A; 12 lesions in 12 patients) and other sites in the hypopharynx (group B; 198 lesions in 146 patients).

The researchers found that the en bloc resection rates were 100 and 99 percent in groups A and B, respectively, and median operative times were 82 and 37 minutes, respectively. Compared with group B, group A had significantly higher frequency of stricture (42 versus 1 percent) and local recurrence (25 versus 6 percent). Conservative treatments could manage all adverse events.

“Endoscopic-assisted TOS is less than ideal for treating superficial cancers of the PEJ compared with hypopharyngeal cancers at other sites,” the authors write. “The PEJ is characterized by more postoperative strictures and local recurrences than other sites, many of which can be managed conservatively.”

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