High-risk pathological features at the time of salvage surgery predict poor survival after definitive therapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: Salvage surgical resection is the preferred treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients who develop locally recurrent disease after failing primary therapy. However, salvage surgical resection is not always feasible, and survival outcomes for those that do undergo salvage remain poor. It is well known that patients with adverse pathological features (extracapsular extension (ECE) of lymph nodes (LN), positive margins, perineural invasion (PNI), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and multiple LN metastases) at the time of primary surgical resection are likely to have relatively poor outcomes. However, the impact of adverse pathological features on outcomes in the salvage setting remains controversial.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 73 patients at a single institution from 2008 to 2017 who developed recurrence and subsequently underwent salvage surgery (SS) after definitive curative-intent therapy including radiation. Demographic and disease control outcomes were reviewed. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate relapse free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS: Median age at diagnosis was 61 years (range 40-86), 49/73 (67%) were male, and 55/73 (75%) had smoked. Patients with any adverse pathological features at SS had worse RFS (HR 3.15 p = 0.0008) and worse OS (3.97 p = 0.0008). Patients who relapsed <6 months after initial therapy had worse OS (HR 2.96 p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with adverse pathological features at time of salvage surgery as well as those who have an early recurrence after definitive treatment and salvage surgery have worse outcomes. Prospective studies are necessary to clarify which patients should receive more intense treatment at salvage.