Various studies have investigated laryngeal function and survival after
induction chemotherapy in hypopharyngeal
carcinoma, but potential factors to help predict response rates after
induction chemotherapy remain unknown. This retro- spective study evaluated which factors are related to an ineffective response to two-cycle
docetaxel,
cisplatin, and 5-fluoro-
uracil (TPF)
induction chemotherapy in hypopharyngeal
carcinoma to determine potential candidates for this treatment in clinical practice. From Jan 2005 to Dec 2015, 81 patients diagnosed with
hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma based on a pathological examination were analyzed. They were administered two-cycle TPF
induction chemotherapy, and magnetic resonance imaging was performed before and after
induction chemotherapy. The mean survival time was 5.7 years (95% confidence interval, 5.1-6.2 years). The 1, 3, 5 and 6-year survival rates were 98.8%, 80.1%, 64.5%, and 54.2%, respectively. TPF
induction chemotherapy was well tolerated; the main adverse effects resolved with symptomatic treatment. A response to TPF
induction chemotherapy was associated with lymph node size,
tumor grade, invasion region, T stage, and primary
tumor. The following issues were significantly associated with an increasing non-response rate to two-cycle
induction chemotherapy: increasing lymph node size, moderately differentiated
squamous cell carcinoma, invasion of the esophagus along with the thyroid cartilage, and primary
tumor in the piriform sinus. Lymph nodes of ≥2.15 cm, moderately differenti- ated
tumor grade, or thyroid cartilage invasion were the best cutoff values for patients who did not respond to
induction chemotherapy. However, the initial
cancer site,
cancer stage, and degree of
cancer differentiation were not closely related to the efficacy of
induction chemotherapy.