Primary Radiotherapy Versus Primary Surgery for HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •Age 18 years or older
• •willing to provide informed consent
• •ECOG performance status 0-2
• •Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma
• •P16 positive, or HPV positive
• •Primary tumor site in the oropharynx (includes tonsil, soft palate, base of tongue, walls of oropharynx)
• •Eligible for curative intent treatment, with likely negative resection margins at surgery. For patients where adequate transoral access is in question, they will first undergo an examination under anesthesia prior to randomization to ensure adequate exposure can be obtained.
• •Smokers and non-smokers are included. Patients will be stratified by ,\<10 pack years smoking history versus \> or equal to 10 pack years.
• •Tumor stage (AJCC 8th edition): T1 or T2
• •Nodal stage (AJCC 8th edition): N0, N1, or N2
• •For patients who may require chemotherapy (ie, patients with multiple lymph nodes positive or a single node more than 3 cm in size, in any plane, CBC/differential within 4 weeks prior to randomization with adequate bone marrow function, hepatic, and renal function defined as: Hemoglobin ≥ 80 g/L; Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 x 10 9/L, platelets ≥ 100 x 10 9/L, bilirubin ≤ 35 umol/L, AST or ALT ≤ 3 x the upper limit of normal; serum creatinine ≤ 130 umol/L or creatinine clearance ≥ 50 ml/min
• •patients assessed at head and neck multidisciplinary clinic (with assessment by radiation oncologist and surgeon) and presented at multidisciplinary tumor board prior to randomization