Human Papillomavirus Infection and Clinical Course in Laryngeal Papilloma

Abstract

A laryngeal papilloma is a benign tumor that occurs due to human papilloma virus infection. Although basically benign, the lesions often recur and grow in size. Furthermore, they sometimes show malignant transformation and often suffer from treatment. We performed a retrospective clinical analysis of 15 patients with laryngeal papilloma who were treated at our department over the past ten years. As with previous reports, most cases involved adult males and occupied the glottis. Canceration only occurred in one patient. Human papilloma virus infections were detected in 14 patients. All of the cases involved with type 6 or type 11（benign types）infections. Canceration occurred in one patient who did not show infection. The treatments performed at our center included, surgical resection and/or transpiration by a CO₂ laser. Recurrence was observed in some cases. This was treated with multiple surgeries. Remission was achieved by the combination of treatment under local anesthesia and adjuvant therapy. It is difficult to cure laryngeal papilloma radically because it is a viral disease. Thus, we treat the disease as follows; we first confirm the lesion with a laryngeal endoscope under general anesthesia and perform a biopsy; and then conduct resection and/or transpiration using CO₂ laser. When recurrence is observed, we immediately attempt extraction or laser transpiration under local anesthesia while the lesion is small. As the number of cases increases, it will be necessary to examine surgical method and postoperative adjuvant therapies.