Table 1. Patient characteristics.
| Characteristic | Neck dissected (n=99) | Neck observed (n=193) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assigned treatment | .80* | ||
| SFX + cisplatin | 53 (53.5) | 99 (51.3) | |
| AFX-C + cisplatin | 46 (46.5) | 94 (48.7) | |
| Age (y) | .12† | ||
| Median (range) | 55 (37-71) | 55 (31-82) | |
| Sex | .02* | ||
| Male | 90 (90.9) | 154 (79.8) | |
| Female | 9 (9.1) | 39 (20.2) | |
| Race | .72* | ||
| White | 84 (84.8) | 167 (86.5) | |
| Non-white | 15 (15.2) | 26 (13.5) | |
| Zubrod performance status | .80* | ||
| 0 | 64 (64.6) | 128 (66.3) | |
| 1 | 35 (35.4) | 65 (33.7) | |
| Smoking history: pack-years‡ | (n=81) | (n=160) | .96† |
| Median (range) | 20 (0-152) | 20 (0-92.5) | |
| Primary site | 1.00* | ||
| Oropharynx, NOS | 15 (15.2) | 17 (8.8) | |
| Faucial arch | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.5) | |
| Tonsillar fossa, tonsil | 44 (44.4) | 81 (42.0) | |
| Base of tongue | 37 (37.4) | 78 (40.4) | |
| Pharyngeal oropharynx | 2 (2.0) | 8 (4.1) | |
| Soft palate | 1 (1.0) | 8 (4.1) | |
| p16 status | .79* | ||
| p16 positive | 69 (69.7) | 130 (67.4) | |
| p16 negative | 30 (30.3) | 63 (32.6) | |
| T stage | .14† | ||
| T2 | 40 (40.4) | 54 (28.0) | |
| T3 | 31 (31.3) | 81 (42.0) | |
| T4 | 28 (28.3) | 58 (30.1) | |
| N stage | .01† | ||
| N1 | 4 (4.0) | 42 (21.8) | |
| N2a | 21 (21.2) | 15 (7.8) | |
| N2b | 33 (33.3) | 72 (37.3) | |
| N2c | 21 (21.2) | 53 (27.5) | |
| N3 | 20 (20.2) | 11 (5.7) | |
| Primary disease status after chemoradiotherapy | .03§ | ||
| Absent | 74 (74.7) | 145 (75.1) | |
| Present | 19 (19.2) | 21 (10.9) | |
| Unknown | 6 (6.1) | 27 (14.0) | |
| Neck disease status after chemoradiotherapy | <.001§ | ||
| Absent | 35 (35.4) | 136 (70.5) | |
| Present | 54 (54.5) | 33 (17.1) | |
| Unknown | 10 (10.1) | 24 (12.4) |
Abbreviations: AFX-C = accelerated fractionation with concomitant boost radiation therapy; NOS = not otherwise specified; SFX = standard fractionation radiation therapy.
Values are number (percentage) unless otherwise noted.
*
Fisher exact test. Primary site is tested as tonsil or base of tongue versus others.
†
Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
‡
A pack-year is defined as the equivalent of smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for 1 year.
§
Chi-squared test.