Background: Despite advances in treatment techniques, a subset of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) invariably develop unresectable recurrent and/or distant metastatic (R/M) disease.
Objectives: To determine the association between overall survival (OS) and recurrence time in patients with HNSCC.
Patients and methods: This retrospective cohort investigation was done on data of 130 patients diagnosed with all stages and grades of HNSCC. Data from medical records included type of surgical procedure, symptoms of patients with recurrence, outcome, time of symptom appearance, prior treatment received, platinum sensitivity, recurrence interval, and location of recurrence.
Results: The early recurrence (ER) group had a significantly lower OS than the late recurrence (LR) group (P<0.001). The mean OS in ER group was 4.08 ± 1.17, whereas in LR group was 50.76 ± 65.42. The univariate logistic regression analysis showed that no radiotherapy, platinum resistance and ER were the only significant predictors for poor prognosis of HNSCC. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that no radiotherapy and ER were substantial predictors for poor prognosis of HNSCC.
Conclusion: The recurrence rate after various treatment modalities of patients with HNSCC was 40.8%, and about 45% of the patients showed ER within 2 to 6 months. The ER was associated with worse OS than the LR. The platinum-resistant, radiotherapy-resistant, margin-positive, and lymph node extracapsular spread were associated with worse outcomes.