Abstract
160 patients with T1N0 and T2N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx were evaluated at our hospital between 1988 and 1995. The data was retrospectively reviewed. 127 cases had carcinoma of the glottis and the others had supra-glottic carcinoma. 104 cases underwent primary radiotherapy and 56 cases received surgical treatment. The disease recured locally in thirty-two of the patients who had received radiotherapy.
The tumors involving the anterior commissure or infrahyoid epiglottis were poorly controlled by local radiotherapy. 56% of recurrent tumors after irradiation appeared in the anterior site of the larynx. Conservative surgery will be one of the acceptable initial treatments for carcinoma involving the anterior commissure or infrahyoid epiglottis.
The local control rate of radiotherapy for glottic carcinoma was 75%. Subsequent surgery was performed for twenty patients who had developed recurrent tumors. In nine cases of, local control was obtained with conservative surgery but in eleven cases a total laryngectomy was needed. In the cases that had gross residual tumors at the time of 40Gy, 69% of them could not obtain functional larynx. The possibility of larynx preservation will be suggested by the response to radiotherapy at the time of 40Gy.
