Abstract
Distant metastases were observed in 28 cases (6.7%) in a series of 420 patients with laryngeal cancer treated from 1965 to 1980 in the Aichi Cancer Center.
The probability of distant matastases is higher in patients with advanced primary tumors, i. e. T3 and T4 lesions.
The most common first sites of distant metastases were the lungs (26 cases), skin, (8 cases), and bone (6 cases).
Forty-six percent of the metastases were detected by one year and over 90% by four years after surgery.
Until recently, distant metastases of laryngeal cancer were considered to be rare, but in over 90% of patients with distant metastases, the cause of death was distant metastasis, so early diagnosis and early treatment are necessary.
We recommend full metastatic screenicg (i. e. chest X-ray, liver scan, bone scan and radiographs) for these patients.
