Comparison of postoperative complications in advanced head and neck cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery versus surgery alone

Background: Head and neck cancer is the third most common cancer in India with 60% presenting in advanced stages. There is the emerging role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in the management of these advanced cancers. There is a general perception that complication rates are higher with the use of NACT. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospectively collected data of head and neck cancer patients operated at our hospital from March 2013 to September 2014. A total of 205 patients were included in the study. These patients were studied in two groups. Group 1 included 153 patients who underwent surgery alone, and Group 2 included 52 patients who received 2-3 cycles of NACT followed by surgery. Results: The mean age of the population was 51 years in the Group 1 and 45 years in Group 2. The hospital stay and readmissions in postoperative period were similar in the two groups. In this study, the complication rate was 37.9% in the surgery patients and 30.8% in the NACT patients (P = 0.424). Conclusion: The postoperative complication rates in patients who received NACT followed by surgery were not significantly different from those who underwent surgery.