Oncological and functional outcomes of transoral surgery compared with non-surgical management in small-volume oropharyngeal cancer: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to investigate oncological and functional outcomes following primary transoral surgery compared with non-surgical management in patients with small-volume (T1-2, N0-2) oropharyngeal cancer. Introduction: The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer is rising. Transoral surgery was introduced to provide a minimally invasive treatment option for patients with small-volume oropharyngeal cancer and to avoid the morbidity that results from open surgery and the potential acute and late toxicities of chemoradiotherapy. Inclusion criteria: The review will include all studies on adult patients with small-volume oropharyngeal cancer managed by transoral surgery or non-surgical management with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. All patients must have undergone treatment with curative intent. Participants who underwent palliative treatment will be excluded. Methods: This review will follow the JBI methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness. Eligible study designs will include randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and prospective or retrospective cohort studies. Databases to be searched will include PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, and multiple trial registries from 1972. Titles and abstracts will be reviewed, and full-text articles will be retrieved if they meet the inclusion criteria. All eligible studies will be critically appraised by 2 independent reviewers using the appropriate JBI tools for experimental and observational designs. Where possible, outcome data from studies will be pooled with statistical meta-analysis to compare both oncological and functional outcomes between the two groups. All time to event to data will be converted to a common metric for oncological outcomes. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach will be followed to assess the certainty of findings. Review registration: PROSPERO CRD4202235209