Purpose : We investigated the clinical features according to the subsites of supraglottic carcinoma. Patients and Methods : We investigated 123 cases of supraglottic carcinoma treated that were at Osaka Medical College from 1999 to 2015. The cases involved five subsites: the arytenoid, false vocal cord, infrahyoid epiglottis, epiglottis, and the aryepiglottic fold. We investigated the associations between the subsites and characteristics of the patients, including age, primary symptoms, tumor stage and disease-specific survival.
Results : The subsites of the patients were as follows: the arytenoid, n=42; false vocal cord, n=34; infrahyoid epiglottis, n=20; epiglottis, n=16; and the aryepiglottic fold, n=11. The primary symptoms of the whole study population were as follows, hoarseness, n=56 (46 %); sore throat, n=40 (33%); cervical tumor, n=27 (22%); foreign body sensation, n=26 (21%). There were differences according to the subsites. The prevalence of T3-4 advanced carcinoma was approximately 61% in all subsites, while the prevalence of cervical lymph node metastasis was ranged from 53% to 82%. The disease-specific survival rates according to the subsites were as follows: arytenoid, 68.6%; false vocal cord, 74.5%; infrahyoid epiglottis, 87.5%; epiglottis, 60.0%, and aryepiglottic fold, 43.6%.
Conclusion : The different subsites of supraglottic carcinoma were associated with considerably different clinical features. An understanding of the clinical features of supraglottic carcinoma is important for early detection and appropriate treatment.
