Laryngeal Cancer: A 2-Year Follow-up Study

Abstract

Objective: 1) To report the process of management and 2-year disease-free survival statistics for laryngeal cancer cases presenting to a United Kingdom tertiary cancer center. 2) To investigate which modality of treatment is the most appropriate for specific stages of laryngeal cancer.

Method: A retrospective cohort study was carried out on laryngeal cancer patients presenting to a tertiary head and neck center from 2007 to 2009. Information on primary tumor staging and management was collected using the Somerset Cancer Registry. Patient notes, imaging, and histology reports were consulted to complete data retrieval.

Results: Forty-seven cases presented during the study period (2 stage-0, 8 stage-I, 12 stage-II, 13 stage-III, 12 stage-IV). Nodal disease was present in 10.6%, and 2.1% had metastatic disease at presentation. Overall 2-year disease-free survival was 100% for stage-0, 87.5% stage-I, 69.2% stage-II, 36.4% stage-III, and 32.2% for stage-IV disease. Stage-I/II cases were treated by transoral laser (36.8%) or radiotherapy (63.2%), with 85.7% and 83.3% 2-year disease-free survival rates, respectively. Stage-III/IV cases were treated by surgery (38.1%) or radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy (61.9%) with 2-year disease-free survival rates of 62.5% and 21.4%, respectively.

Conclusion: Early-stage disease is equally well treated with transoral laser or radiotherapy alone in line with other studies. Larynx preservation with chemoradiotherapy demonstrates significantly poorer outcomes compared to surgery in this study. Accurate contemporary data recording is required to allow critical review of treatment modalities.