Total glossectomy in the organ preservation era - Functional outcomes and survival

Authors

  • Susana Pereira Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Portugal,
  • Rui Fino Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, Portugal
  • Pedro Montalvão Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, Portugal
  • Marta Mariano Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Portugal
  • Marta Melo Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Hospital Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca, Portugal
  • Luís Castelhano Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, Portugal
  • Miguel Magalhães Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34631/sporl.953

Keywords:

Head and neck surgery, oral tongue cancer, base of tongue cancer, total glossectomy, flap reconstruction

Abstract

Aims: Evaluation of patients undergoing total glossectomy (GT).

Material and Methods: Retrospective study that included patients undergoing GT between 2009 and 2018 at the Otorhinolaryngology Service of IPOLFG.

Results: 27 patients were included. The vast majority of patients (78%) had advanced tumor (stage IV). GT was performed as a salvage treatment in 56% of cases. The reconstruction was mostly performed using a pectoralis major flap (59%). 93% of patients were laryngectomized. 30% of patients achieved adequate swallowing function. In the mean follow-up period of 21 months, 14 (52%) patients relapsed. One- and 5-year survival rates were 52% and 22%.

Conclusions: GT was mostly performed in cases of disease recurrence after an organ preservation protocol. It has an impact on quality of life by affecting both swallowing and speech. These patients have high locoregional recurrence and low survival rate, but it is an important option when therapeutic alternatives are limited.

References

Han AY, Kuan EC, Mallen-St Clair J, Badran KW, Palma Diaz MF, Blackwell KE. et al. Total glossectomy with free flap reconstruction: twenty-year experience at a Tertiary Medical Center. Laryngoscope. 2019 May;129(5):1087-1092. doi: 10.1002/lary.27579.

Kamhieh Y, Fox H, Healy S, Hallett E, Quine S, Owens D. et al. Total glossolaryngectomy cohort study (N = 25): Survival, function and quality of life. Clin Otolaryngol. 2018 Oct;43(5):1349-1353. doi: 10.1111/coa.13121.

Quinsan ICM, Costa GC, Priante AVM, Cardoso CA, Nunes CLS. Functional outcomes and survival of patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer after total glossectomy. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. Sep-Oct 2020;86(5):545-551. doi: 10.1016/j.bjorl.2019.02.005.

van Lierop AC, Basson O, Fagan JJ. Is total glossectomy for advanced carcinoma of the tongue justified? S Afr J Surg [Internet] 2008 Feb;46(1):22-5. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC66740

Sinclair CF, Carroll WR, Desmond RA, Rosenthal EL. Functional and survival outcomes in patients undergoing total glossectomy compared with total laryngoglossectomy. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2011 Nov;145(5):755-8. doi: 10.1177/0194599811412724.

Vartanian JG, Magrin J, Kowalski LP. Total glossectomy in the organ preservation era. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010 Apr;18(2):95-100. doi: 10.1097/MOO.0b013e3283376c3f

Downloads

Published

2021-12-17

How to Cite

Pereira, S., Fino, R., Montalvão, P., Mariano, M., Melo, M., Castelhano, L. ., & Magalhães, M. . (2021). Total glossectomy in the organ preservation era - Functional outcomes and survival. Portuguese Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, 59(4), 341–346. https://doi.org/10.34631/sporl.953

Issue

Vol. 59 No. 4 (2021): December

Section

Original Article

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Portuguese Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.