Background
Dysphagia outcomes for the surgical compared with radiotherapy approaches for the treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is still being determined. Transoral robotic surgery allows some patients to choose primary surgical intervention for their cancer treatment plan then either avoiding or undergoing a de-escalated post-operative radiotherapy adjuvant treatment, rather than the traditional high dose chemo-radiotherapy. It is thought that this would improve the swallowing function for patients. We aimed to describe and compare the dysphagia characteristics of definitive intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and TORS at one year post treatment
Methods
Prospective, observational case matched cohort design, in a multi-centre trial (Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital)
Instrumental swallow assessment; fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing, secretion severity scale, airway protection, penetration and aspiration scale, boston clearance and residue scale
Clinician rated measures: performance status scale (head and neck), functional oral intake scale
Patient rated measures: MD Anderson Dysphagia Index
Results:
In final months of recruitment, for completion in April 2020