Robotic surgery in the treatment of oropharyngeal cancer: a case report

Background. The incidence of HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is steadily increasing. Given the better prognosis in patients with HPV-positive cancer compared to HPV-negative cancer, attempts were made to reduce the therapeutic effect in patients with early-stage OSCC to improve the quality of life of these patients. Early-stage OSCC can currently been treated with radiation therapy or surgery used alone or in combination. Currently, the concept of transoral surgery includes both transoral laser microsurgery and robot-assisted surgeries (da Vinci, medrobotics Flex system). Case description. We report a case of using the da Vinci robot-assisted system in the combined modality treatment of oropharyngeal cancer. The patient underwent surgery followed by chemoradiotherapy. At a follow-up of 10 months, no evidence of disease progression was found. The patient experienced no any pain on swallowing.