Background: Early glottic carcinoma has a high local control prospect with radiotherapy. This review evaluates a single center's experience.
Methods: All patients from 1967 to 2006 diagnosed with Tis/T1/T2/N0 early glottic carcinoma treated definitively with radiotherapy at Prince of Wales Hospital were reviewed. Local control and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates were primary endpoints, and the impact of various factors on these outcomes was statistically analyzed.
Results: This review of 522 patients includes 24 with Tis, 356 with T1, and 142 with T2. Ultimate local control rates were as follows: Tis 87.5%, T1 94.7%, and T2 84.5%. Multivariate analysis found fitness for surgery, no involvement of anterior commissure, normal cord movement, and radiotherapy dose >60 Gy significant for local control. Fitness for surgery, no involvement of the anterior commissure, normal cord movement, and no ventricular involvement were significant prognostic factors for CSS.
Conclusion: Definitive radiotherapy for early glottic carcinoma provides high local control rates, with the option of surgical salvage to achieve ultimate local control.
(c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.