e17003 Background: Treatment of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) require an evidence-based multidisciplinary approach which varies from medical centres. Panendoscopy has been traditionally used as a routine screening examination tool. We discuss and compare its clinical effectiveness, safety and predictive value in patients with computed tomography (CT) scans in a routine outpatient follow up. Methods: Between 2004-2007, in a retrospective study (204 patients; male:156 (76.5%); female:48 (23.5%))with head and neck cancer, fulfilled all inclusion and exclusion criteria were evaluated at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. Follow-ups were performed every 2 to 3 months for the first 3 years and every 6 month for the following 2 years. UICC-TNM staging system divided patients into seven categories. Results: The mean age of patients was (male: 59.2±9.3 years; female: 59.5±10.2 years), the highest incidence rate was recorded in the 51 to 60 age group (n = 77). There was a male predominance, with a male/female ratio of 3:1. In comparing normal versus abnormal CT a 12-fold higher frequency of recurrence (odds ratio [OR]; 95% CI: 3.99, 37.51; p<0.001) was interpreted.Additionally, patient anamnesis (OR: 3.33; 95% CI: 1.57, 7.07; p=0.002), clinical investigation (OR: 5.85; 95% CI: 3.01,11.36; p<0.001) and recurrence pattern (OR: 4.82; 95% CI: 2.26,10.32; p<0.001) was observed. Conclusions: In staging / follow-up HNSCC patients, CT-diagnostics also provided similar levels of accuracy as panendoscopy. Panendoscopy in patients with HNSCC was avoided (169 out of 364) when the diagnostic parameters remained satisfactory. Higher patient satisfaction, structural information at a high spatial resolution and comfort was noted in the CT group, indicating a gradual move towards CT diagnostics. For safety-related reasons in particular, we recommend panendoscopy for histological evaluation i.e.in predicting cancer recurrence and progression.
