Clinical relevance of endoscopic treatment for superficial pharyngeal cancer: feasibility of techniques corresponding to each location and long-term outcomes

Abstract Background and Aims Superficial pharyngeal cancers are being detected and treated using endoscopy in many medical facilities with increasing frequency. However, those reports focus on the hypopharynx. We identified reliable treatments by adapting the method for each region of the pharynx. Here, we introduce our methods for treating various pharyngeal regions and show their long-term results. Methods Out of 308 consecutive patients who underwent pharyngeal ESD between February 2007 and December 2018 at our institution, we selected for this study 294 that were histologically diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. We divided into 4 groups based on the specific location of superficial pharyngeal lesions and evaluated the short- and long-term outcomes such as technical success, adverse events, overall survival and case specific survival. Results Procedure time was 51 min at Location A where cancer develops most commonly. The rate of en bloc resection was 99.4%, whereas R0 resection rate was 63%. As for adverse events, there were 2 cases of postoperative hemorrhage, which were both treated with endoscopic hemostasis. The average observation period was 61.2 months overall, with 14 cases of recurrent lymph node metastasis. The 5-year survival rate was 84.1%, and cause-specific survival was 100%. Conclusions Adaptation of the treatment method according to the location of the lesion led to good results. Endoscopic treatment of superficial pharyngeal cancer is both feasible and beneficial.