Impact of endoscopic screening on early detection of hypopharyngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND The aim was to investigate whether periodic pharyngolaryngoscopy screening in high-risk patients with preceding carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract can detect early hypopharyngeal cancer and preserve the larynx. METHODS The records of 122 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into the following two groups: (1) the screening (SCR) group (n = 65), patients whose hypopharyngeal cancer was detected by pharyngolaryngoscopy screening; and (2) the symptom (SYMP) group (n = 57), patients whose cancer was discovered by any symptoms. Patients' demographics and larynx preservation were compared. RESULTS The number of patients with clinical stage I to IV disease at diagnosis was 44, 14, three, four for the SCR group, respectively, and six, six, 15, 30 for the SYMP group, which was significantly different (p < .0001). The rate of larynx preservation after radical treatment was 79.4% for the SCR group and 45.4% for the SYMP group (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS Periodic pharyngolaryngoscopy screening in high-risk patients may contribute to detecting early hypopharyngeal cancer. Early detection of hypopharyngeal cancer may enhance the rate of larynx preservation and improve the quality of life.