BACKGROUND: Current literature on the effect of postoperative complications on survival outcomes in head and neck cancers remains contradictory. This study assesses whether postoperative complications adversely affect survival in cases of complex surgical ablation and reconstruction of oral squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: In all, 255 consecutive patients with complete clinicopathologic data were included. Survival was determined using the log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to adjust for the effect of other significant covariates to determine the independent effect of complication variables for overall survival (OS). A competing risk model was used for disease-specific survival (DSS). RESULTS: On multivariable analysis, major complications independently prognosticated for reduced OS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-3.2, p = .02]. There was no evidence for an association between any complication-variable and DSS or recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Major postoperative complications are independently associated with decreased OS.
BACKGROUND: Current literature on the effect of postoperative complications on survival outcomes in head and neck cancers remains contradictory. This study assesses whether postoperative complications adversely affect survival in cases of complex surgical ablation and reconstruction of oral squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: In all, 255 consecutive patients with complete clinicopathologic data were included. Survival was determined using the log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to adjust for the effect of other significant covariates to determine the independent effect of complication variables for overall survival (OS). A competing risk model was used for disease-specific survival (DSS). RESULTS: On multivariable analysis, major complications independently prognosticated for reduced OS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-3.2, p = .02]. There was no evidence for an association between any complication-variable and DSS or recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Major postoperative complications are independently associated with decreased OS.
Authors: Mahmoud I Awad; Frank L Palmer; Lei Kou; Changhong Yu; Pablo H Montero; Andrew G Shuman; Ian Ganly; Jatin P Shah; Michael W Kattan; Snehal G Patel Journal: JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2015-11 Impact factor: 6.223
Authors: Eeva Haapio; T Kiviniemi; H Irjala; P Koivunen; J K E Airaksinen; I Kinnunen Journal: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2016-07-04 Impact factor: 2.503