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Role of surgery in the management of head and neck cancer: a contemporary view of the data in the era of organ preservation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2013

K Hörmann  and
H Sadick
K Hörmann*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Germany
H Sadick
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Germany
*
Address for correspondence: Professor Karl Hörmann, Head and Chair of the Department of ORL, HNS, University Hospital of Mannheim, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer, 68135 Mannheim, Germany Fax: +49 6213833827 E-mail: karl.hoermann@umm.de
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Abstract

Objective:

Review of the literature on the role of surgery in the management of head and neck cancer in the era of organ preservation.

Method:

Literature search based on the essential practice guidelines set out by the US National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Results:

Despite the increasing popularity of non-surgical treatment options, the surgeon remains a key figure in the multidisciplinary head and neck cancer team, along with the radiation oncologist, the medical oncologist and the speech and swallowing therapist. Even when organ preservation is successful, early and late toxicity may cause serious complications, including laryngeal dysfunction with a ‘frozen larynx’. When organ preservation fails, salvage surgery is often associated with increased complications and reduced survival.

Conclusion:

There is a definite need to apply more rigorous standards to the use of organ preservation strategies, and to re-evaluate the role of surgery in head and neck cancer treatment.

Keywords

Head And Neck NeoplasmsGeneral SurgeryOrgan PreservationSurvival
Type
Review Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 127 , Issue 2 , February 2013 , pp. 121 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2013

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Footnotes

Professor K Hörmann was one of the 2012 JLO Visiting Professors

Presented as the Eugene N Myers International Lecture in Head and Neck Surgery, at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, 12 September 2012, San Francisco, California, USA

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