A new study conducted by researchers at the Henry Ford Hospital has said that an incision less robotic surgery may help easily remove certain head and neck tumours without visible scarring and improve survival in cancer patients.
According to the researchers, Patients with cancer in the oropharynx - middle part of the throat that includes the tongue base, tonsils, soft palate and pharynx - who underwent TransOral Robotic Surgery, or TORS, as the first line of treatment experienced an average three-year survival from time of diagnosis. For non-surgical patients, several studies have shown that p16 positive throat cancers, or HPV- related throat cancers, have better survival and less recurrence than p16 negative throat cancers. Within our study, patients treated with robotic surgery had excellent results and survival, irrespective of their p16 status.