Trial Information

Nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPCs) are highly radiosensitive tumors, and the primary treatment
of NPCs is radiotherapy.1 Because most patients who have NPC are at advanced stages when
initially seen, local failures in terms of persistence or recurrence are not infrequent
after primary radiotherapy.2,3 Local regional relapse without the presence of distant
failure can still be salvaged and should be aggressively treated. Tumors relapsing in the
nasopharynx can be salvaged using either re-irradiation or surgical techniques.1 Although
re-irradiation to the recurrent tumor can extent the 5-year actuarial survival rate, it is
associated with high morbidity. 4-6 Traditional nasopharyngectomy has been associated with
local control rates on the order of 40%~50%, but it has also been associated with
complications such as palatal defects, trismus, facial scarring, osteomyelitis, etc.7-10
That is the reason why surgeons continue searching for new methods for performing
nasopharyngectomies with lower morbidities.

Nasopharyngectomies are difficult to perform because of the inaccessibility of the
nasopharynx. More difficulties are encountered in performing a nasopharyngectomy through
the nose due to the restricted surgical field. With advances in techniques of endoscopy and
application of the potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser in surgery, pathologic lesions
located either at the choanal margin or in the nasopharynx can easily be managed with
instruments inserted via the nasal cavities. The surgical technique had been accepted by the
authority journal. This time, we will review the therapeutic result of KTP-laser
nasopharyngectomy in patients with recurrent NPC.