BACKGROUND Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has been shown to be both feasible and oncologically sound for use in early T classification hypopharyngeal cancers. The purpose of this study was to present our surgical technique for performing a transoral robotic hypopharyngectomy. METHODS A 48-year-old man with a T2, N2a, M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx underwent a transoral roboti...

Bile-containing gastro-duodenal reflux has been clinically considered an independent risk factor in hypopharyngeal carcinogenesis. We recently showed that the chronic effect of acidic bile, at pH 4.0, selectively induces NF-κB activation and accelerates the transcriptional levels of genes, linked to head and neck cancer, in normal hypopharyngeal epithelial cells. Here, we hypothesize that NF-κB...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To determine the incidence of level IIB lymph node metastasis in patients with laryngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and to evaluate the need for elective and therapeutic neck dissection of level IIB. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort study and review of the literature. METHODS Patients with laryngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (N = 65) wer...

BACKGROUND Extra-esophageal carcinogenesis has been widely discussed in relation to the chronic effects of laryngopharyngeal reflux and most prominently with pepsin historically central to this discussion. With refluxate known to include gastric (pepsin) and duodenal (bile) fluids, we recently demonstrated the mechanistic role of NF-κB in mediating the preneoplastic effects of acidic-bile. Howe...

Objective: To evaluate the clinicopathologic findings and treatment outcome in laryngectomized patients with laryngeal cancer and hypopharyngeal cancer. Materials and Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 212 patients who had been newly diagnosed and treated with laryngectomy between January 2000 and December 2010. The age, gender, clinical manifestations, associa...

The aim of this study is to evaluate the results of treatment for hypopharyngeal cancer and indicate the future prospect of the treatment. Seventy-four patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx admitted to Miyagi Cancer Center from 1993 through 2000 are reviewed. Sixty-four patients received radical treatment, and 10 patients received palliative treatment or no treatment. The can...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The reconstruction of hypopharyngeal defects should focus on minimizing morbidity in a high-risk population while achieving adequate functional results with regard to the restoration of speech, swallowing, and airway control. We introduce the clinical application of the thoracoacromial artery perforator (TAAP) flap as a new reconstructive option for hypopharyngeal defects....

OBJECTIVE To investigate the contribution of pepsin to inflammation attributed to nonacidic gastric reflux via analysis of inflammatory cytokine and cytokine receptor gene expression in pepsin-treated human hypopharyngeal epithelial cells in vitro. STUDY DESIGN Translational research. SETTING This study was performed in an academic research laboratory. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Human hypophary...

BACKGROUND P16 and cyclin-D1 are cell cycle proteins commonly dysregulated in head and neck carcinoma. We assessed their expression, clinicopathological variables, and overall survival (OS) in oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS Clinical characteristics and p16 and cyclin-D1 expression were evaluated in 101 patients with oropharyngeal SCC and 75 patients wi...