Surgical salvage of persistent or recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma with maxillary swing approach - Critical appraisal after 2 decades.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to report on our experience on salvage nasopharyngectomy using the maxillary swing approach for persistent or recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma after primary treatment. METHODS Over the past 2 decades, we have performed salvage nasopharyngectomies for 246 patients. Thirty-seven patients (15%) had persistent disease and 209 (85%) had recurrent tumors. RESULTS All patients survived the operation with minimal morbidity. Negative resection margins were achieved in 191 patients (78%), and 55 patients (22%) had microscopic residual disease. The median follow-up was 38 months. The 5-year actuarial control of disease in the nasopharynx was 74%. The 5-year disease-free survival was 56%. Cox regression model identified the negative resection margin and the size of the tumor as 2 independent factors that affected local control of disease and survival. CONCLUSION Maxillary swing nasopharyngectomy is an effective salvage procedure for a small, persistent, or recurrent tumor in the nasopharynx after primary therapy.