Dec 27 2010
Scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have reported that minimally invasive robotic surgery for digestive track and upper airway malignant cancer is equally effective when compared to other less-invasive surgical methods based on patient survival and ability to function.
Neck and head squamous cell carcinomas represent 4% of malignant cancer in the US every year. Transoral laser microsurgery is currently used to cure these cancers.
Previous studies on robotic surgery revealed that the technique allowed patients to swallow, which is a common and grave side effect. However, the study did not analyze the curing rate.
J. Scott Magnuson, an otolaryngologist at UAB and his colleagues from Mayo Clinic and UAB carried out a study on patient function and curing rate of cancer and published the results in the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery on 20 December 2010. According to the study, the robotic surgery provides faster curing rate.
The UAB team conducted the study on 89 patients with different stages of neck and head squamous cell carcinomas. The patients’ primary cancer was removed by utilizing the da Vinci Robot. All the patients were observed during their hospitalization and up to 33 months post the surgery.
Magnuson stated that the patient ability to swallow varied based on the patient age, tumor location, tumor stage and pre-surgery swallowing ability. The results of the latest study were inline with the previous study. He further said that the study results indicates that robotic surgery provides a technically viable and superior substitute treatment for certain patients with neck and head squamous cell carcinomas. However, more research is needed to validate the study, he concluded.
Source: http://www.uab.edu