Is robotic surgery an option for early T-stage laryngeal cancer? Early nationwide results

Objectives/hypothesis: To characterize patients undergoing laryngeal transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and compare to open partial surgery and transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) in achieving negative margins, requiring adjuvant radiation, and overall survival.

Study design: Retrospective database analysis.

Methods: Early-stage (T1/2) laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients from the National Cancer Database. Univariable and multivariable logistic and Cox regressions were used to identify predictors.

Results: There were 1,780 patients included in the study (186 [10.4%] = TORS; 523 [29.4%] = open surgery; 1,071 [60.2%] = TLM). TORS was more commonly treated at academic centers (68.8% = open surgery, 53.9% = TLM, 71.0% = TORS; P < .001) and had more T2 (52.7% = TORS, 46.7% = open surgery, 20.5% = TLM; P < .001) and N-positive disease (26.9% = TORS, 19.5% = open surgery, 5.5% = TLM; P < .001). Surgical approach was significantly associated with margin status (positive margin rates: TORS = 17.4%, TLM = 20.0%, open surgery = 13.8%) between open surgery and TLM in multivariable analysis (compared to open surgery, TLM: 1.63 [1.12-2.38], TORS: 1.18 [0.72-1.94]; P = .04). Surgical approach was not associated with receipt of adjuvant radiation (compared to open surgery, TLM: 1.52 [1.04-2.24], TORS: 1.56 [0.97-2.49]; P = .05). It was not associated with margins or adjuvant radiation in supraglottic patients. TORS had the highest 5-year overall survival, although the survival for TLM was similar (68.7% and 64.8%, respectively), and both were higher than that of open surgery (59.1%; P = .01). In multivariable Cox regression for supraglottic patients, there was no observed difference between TORS and open surgery (compared to TORS, open surgery: 1.44 [0.93-2.24]; P = .25).

Conclusions: On multivariable analysis, there was no observed difference in margin status in TORS patients compared to TLM and open surgery (in both the total cohort and supraglottic subgroup). Similarly there was no observed difference in necessitating adjuvant radiation. In Cox regression, there was no observed difference between TORS and open surgery in overall survival for supraglottic patients. This study suggests that TORS may be a viable treatment option for early-stage laryngeal cancer.

Level of evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 130:1195-1201, 2020.