Comparison of interstitial brachytherapy and surgery as primary treatments for nasal vestibule carcinomas

Objectives/Hypothesis Squamous cell carcinoma arising from the nasal vestibule is a rare condition accounting for about 1% of head and neck malignancies with several peculiarities concerning both staging and treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the oncological and functional results of two different treatment modalities for the primary site: surgery and brachytherapy. Study Design A case series with the comparison of two different treatment modalities. Methods We evaluate clinical and survival data of 12 untreated patients, enrolled by a multidisciplinary tumor board, comparing oncological, functional, and esthetic results after surgery or after interstitial brachytherapy as exclusive treatments for the primary site. The functional and esthetic outcome was subjectively rated by the patients using a five-point scale. Results Locoregional control and survival are not significantly different between patients primarily treated by surgery and by brachytherapy. The functional and esthetic outcome, as assessed by the degree of satisfaction of the patients, is significantly better after primary brachytherapy than after primary surgery (P =.014). Conclusions In our experience brachytherapy, accomplished in close cooperation between surgeons and radiation oncologists, achieves oncological results that are not different from surgery, but with a higher degree of patient satisfaction, mainly due to the esthetic outcome. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 126:367-371, 2016.