Oncological and survival outcomes following transoral robotic surgery versus transoral laser microsurgery for the treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review protocol.

OBJECTIVE/REVIEW QUESTIONS: The objective of this systematic review is to synthesize the best available evidence regarding the oncological and survival outcomes (as measured by disease control, disease-free survival, disease-specific survival and overall survival) of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) versus transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) in the treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in adults (aged 18 years or older). Specifically the review questions are:1 Is there a difference in oncological outcomes between a traditional "Halstedian" en bloc tumor resection technique used in TORS versus a modern segmental tumor dissection technique used in TLM?2 Does one surgical approach confer better oncological outcomes with respect to a particular patient subgroup, such as patients with a positive human papilloma virus status or patient's with different tumor T-stages?