Hypopharyngeal cancer is a common head and neck cancer in Vietnam. The treatment strategy for locally advanced is surgery combined with adjuvant radiotherapy. Our study involved 24 patients with stage III and IV hypopharyngeal cancer who underwent surgery with jejunal free flap reconstruction and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. The results revealed that most patients were at stage IVA (87.5%), with an average adjuvant radiation dose of 63.33 ± 4.44Gy. Radiation doses to the jejunal flap were measured as Dmax: 68.83 ± 4.88Gy, Dmean: 62.91 ± 4.62Gy, and Dmin: 46.14 ± 10.94Gy. Acute side effects are mainly grade 1, 2 and can be controlled. The patient’s swallowing function at the time before and after radiotherapy 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12- months is similar, with an average of 10 - 11 scores according to QLQ-H&N35 scale. Three- year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 71.6% and 43.5%, respectively. This research shows that the treatment regimen has good tolerability, while ensuring the patient’s swallowing function and promising survival outcomes.

Keywords: Free jejunal flap, pharyngoesophageal reconstruction, radiotherapy, hypopharyngeal cancer, adjuvant radiotherapy.

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