A largely Canadian study called ORATOR, has reported on the differences and similarities between two methods of treating Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, using either Radiotherapy or Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS). Both methods have nearly identical survival rates.
The report, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that the Radiotherapy group had some dry mouth and hearing loss issues. The TORS group reported higher post-operative pain and more difficulty swallowing.
From the Abstract: "...oncologic outcomes were excellent in both arms."
68-patients were enrolled in the 5-year random study.
Citation: Nichols AC, Theurer J, Prisman E, Read N, Berthelet E, Tran E, Fung K, de Almeida JR, Bayley A, Goldstein DP, Hier M, Sultanem K, Richardson K, Mlynarek A, Krishnan S, Le H, Yoo J, MacNeil SD, Winquist E, Hammond JA, Venkatesan V, Kuruvilla S, Warner A, Mitchell S, Chen J, Johnson-Obaseki S, Odell M, Corsten M, Parker C, Wehrli B, Kwan K, Palma DA.
Radiotherapy Versus Transoral Robotic Surgery for Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Final Results of the ORATOR Randomized Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Sep 20:JCO2400119. doi: 10.1200/JCO.24.00119. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39303189.
