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Scientific Oral Presentation

Head and Neck Surgery

Survival Outcomes of Hypopharyngeal Aryepiglottic Fold Squamous Cell Carcinoma:

Sunday, October 18, 2026
9:36 AM - 9:42 AM PT
Location: West Exhibit Hall A, Learning Zone 3

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Praneet C. Kaki, BS

    Medical Student
    Sidney Kimmel Medical College Thomas Jefferson University
    Philadelphia, PA, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • NS

    Neel Sangal, MD

    Dr.
    Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Robert M. Brody, MD

    Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology
    University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Disclosure(s):
Praneet C. Kaki, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the aryepiglottic (AE) fold has classically been divided into supraglottic (SG) and hypopharyngeal (HP) sites. HP SCC carries a significantly worse prognosis than tumors of the SG. The Extent of Disease primary site classification for the HP includes C131 - Hypopharyngeal aspect of the aryepiglottic folds (H-AEF). There has been no prior characterization of the treatment paradigm and survival outcomes of malignancies of the H-AEF as an individual clinical entity.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with H-AEF, non H-AEF HP, and SG SCC between 2004-2019 were selected from the SEER database. Demographic, clinicopathologic, and treatment characteristics were compared between the 3 groups. Kaplan-Meier curves were created to assess five-year survival. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to evaluate factors associated with five-year and overall survival.

Results: A total of 20,238 patients met inclusion criteria, including 449 with H-AEF (2.2%), 6,084 with HP (30.1%), and 13,705 with SG (67.7%) cancer. On univariate analysis, tumor size, extent of spread, and nodal involvement differed significantly among groups, with H-AEF tumors demonstrating T, N, and M stage distributions more closely resembling SG than HP cancers. Treatment patterns also varied by subsite, with primary chemoradiation used most frequently for HP cancer (48.1%) compared to H-AEF (42.3%) and supraglottic cancer (40%), while primary surgery was more commonly employed for H-AEF than for HP cancer (11.9% vs 8.1%). On multivariable regression, non-H-AEF HP cancer was associated with worse five-year survival compared to H-AEF (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.03-1.40; p=0.02), while SG cancer demonstrated no significant difference in survival compared to H-AEF.

Conclusions: Cancer arising from the hypopharyngeal aspect of the AE folds is classified as hypopharyngeal cancer. This study finds that H-AEF has unique and anatomically relevant clinicopathologic and survival characteristics compared to other hypopharyngeal cancers and may warrant consideration and coding as a supraglottic malignancy.