Main Session
Sep 29
PQA 07 - Head and Neck Cancer, Lung Cancer/Thoracic Malignancies, and Nursing and Supportive Care

3648 - Improved Outcomes with Adjuvant Radiotherapy for Resected Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Retromolar Trigone, Alveolar Ridge & Buccal Mucosa

03:45pm - 05:00pm ET
Poster Hall - Exhibit Hall A
Screen: 12
POSTER

Presenter(s)

Alberto Vera, MD - UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA

A. A. Vera1, C. T. Wilke2, D. A. Clump II3, D. E. Heron4, S. Kim5, S. Sridharan6, U. Duvvuri7, H. D. Skinner1, and Y. M. Mowery1; 1Department of Radiation Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 2Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 3Department of Radiation Oncology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, WVU Cancer Institute, Morgantown, WV, 4American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO), Bethesda, MD, 5Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 6Department of Otolaryngology, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, 7Department of Otolaryngology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY

Purpose/Objective(s):

To evaluate the effects of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) on outcomes for patients (pt) with resected retromolar trigone (RMT), alveolar ridge (AR), & buccal mucosa (BM) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We hypothesized that adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) would be associated with improved recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS).

Materials/Methods:

Adults s/p surgical resection (Sx) ± RT for RMT, AR, or BM SCC (2002-21) were evaluated in a single-institution retrospective analysis. RFS & OS were measured from surgery by Kaplan-Meier method & compared by log-rank or Cox regression. To mitigate selection bias for RT, propensity scores (PS) were generated by multiple logistic regression based on age, tobacco use, EtOH use, LVSI, margin status, grade, PNI, T & N category, then incorporated into PS-adjusted Cox models.

Results:

Among 219 pt with 9.3 yr median f/u, 37% recurred (Table 1). Most recurrences were local in both cohorts. On unadjusted KM, the Sx only vs Sx + RT cohorts had similar RFS (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.61 – 1.61) & OS (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.70 – 1.51), despite higher risk pathology in the RT group (Table 1). Median RFS was 9.96 yr for Sx & undefined for Sx + RT, with median OS of 7.26 & 6.98 yr, respectively. After PS adjustment, RT was associated with improved RFS (HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.26 – 0.99) & OS (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.31 – 0.90).

Conclusion:

Retromolar trigone, alveolar ridge, & buccal mucosa SCC have substantial recurrence risk, with predominantly local failures. Despite enrichment of adverse features in the RT cohort, adjuvant RT was independently associated with improved RFS & OS after adjustment.

Sx

(n=160; 73.1)

Sx + RT

(n=59; 26.9)

p-value

n (%)

n (%)

Age (y)

Median (IQR)

<65

>65

69 (62–78)

51 (31.9)

109 (68.1)

63 (46 – 69)

32 (54.2)

27 (45.8)

0.0004

0.003

Sex

Male

Female

89 (55.6)

71 (44.4)

30 (50.8)

29 (49.2)

0.54

Tobacco

Yes

No

Unk

101 (63.1)

56 (35)

3 (1.9)

53 (89.8)

6 (10.2)

0 (0)

0.0002

EtOH

Yes

No

Unk

79 (49.4)

72 (45)

9 (5.6)

40 (67.8)

18 (30.5)

1 (1.7)

0.04

Site

RMT

AR

BM

44 (27.5)

113 (70.6)

3 (1.9)

36 (61)

22 (37.3)

1 (1.7)

<0.0001

pT

T1

T2

T3

T4

63 (39.4)

47 (29.4)

7 (4.4)

43 (26.9)

4 (6.8)

3 (5.1)

6 (10.2)

46 (78)

<0.0001

pN

Nx

N0

N1

N2

N3

35 (21.9)

98 (61.3)

13 (8.1)

11 (6.9)

3 (1.9)

0 (0)

30 (50.8)

9 (15.3)

16 (27.1)

4 (6.8)

<0.0001

Grade

1

2

3

Unk

39 (24.4)

102 (63.8)

13 (8.1)

6 (3.8)

5 (8.5)

45 (76.3)

9 (15.3)

0 (0)

0.0097

LVSI

No

Yes

Unk

140 (87.5)

18 (11.3)

2 (1.3)

41 (69.5)

12 (20.3)

6 (10.2)

0.0664

PNI

No

Yes

Unk

118 (73.8)

32 (20)

10 (6.3)

35 (59.3)

24 (40.7)

0 (0)

0.0057

ENE

No

Yes

Unk or N/A

20 (12.5)

13 (8.1)

127 (79.4)

16 (27.1)

15 (25.4)

28 (47.5)

<0.0001

Margin

-

+

Unk

149 (93.1)

7 (4.4)

4 (2.5)

37 (62.7)

7 (11.9)

5 (8.5)

0.0159

Recurrence

No

Yes

Local only

Regional only

Locoregional

Local + Met

Met only

101 (63.1)

59 (36.9)

37 (62.7)

5 (8.5)

9 (15.3)

7 (11.9)

1 (1.7)

37 (62.7)

22 (37.3)

14 (63.6)

3 (13.6)

1 (4.5)

1 (4.5)

3 (13.6)

>0.9999