Abstract
Objectives: Endoscopic nasopharyngectomy (ENPG) with en bloc resection has been well accepted in resectable locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC), but it is difficult to master the technique and disseminate. We designed a novel method using low-temperature plasma radiofrequency ablation (LPRA) with piece resection and evaluated the survival benefit.Materials and Methods: A total of 56 resectable rNPC patients were retrospectively analyzed, and the following factors were assessed: ratio of R0 margin, overall survival rate (OS), local relapse-free survival rate (LRFS), and progression-free survival rate (PFS).Results: All surgeries were successfully performed without any severe postoperative complications or deaths. The median operation time was 130 minutes (range, 32–280 minutes), with little blood loss (median, 30 ml; range, 5–500 ml). The average number of hospital days postoperation was 3 days (range, 2–5 days). All cases (100.0%) had R0 margins. The nasopharyngeal defects were completely re-epithelialized in 53 (94.6%) patients. The 2-year OS, LRFS, and PFS rates of the entire cohort were 100%, 90.7% and 88.6%, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis indicated that cycles of radiotherapy were independent risk factors for LRFS (hazard ratio [HR], 16.607; 95% CI 1.638–168.417; P = 0.017) and PFS (HR, 7.424; 95% CI 1.190–46.320; P = 0.032).Conclusions: Radical endoscopic nasopharyngectomy is a novel, safe and relatively easier method for treating resectable rNPC by using low-temperature plasma radiofrequency ablation with piece resection. However, further data and longer follow-up time are needed to prove its efficacy.
Low-temperature plasma radiofrequency ablation in phantom limb pain: A case report
