Utility of Surgery/Radiotherapy in Distant Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Population-Based Approach

ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to analyze the survival benefits of surgery and/or radiation therapy over no therapy in patients with metastatic (M1) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region (HN-SCC).Study DesignRetrospective administrative database analysis.Subjects and MethodsThe Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was queried for M1 HN-SCC cases from 1988 to 2012 (6663 patients). Patient demographics, initial treatment, and survival outcomes were analyzed. Survival was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier model.ResultsOf the 6663 patients identified with M1 HN-SCC in the SEER database, 1669 patients received no therapy; 2459 patients, radiotherapy; 570 patients, surgery; and 1100 patients, surgery with adjuvant radiotherapy. The mean survival was 8.44 months for patients who did not undergo any therapy. In comparison, patients who underwent radiotherapy alone, surgery alone, or surgery with radiotherapy had mean survivals of 18.03 (P < .0001), 31.07 (P < .0001), and 39.9...