Results of treatment of 584 laryngeal cancers at the Ear-Nose-Throat Clinic of Marburg University

The results in the management of 460 vocal cord carcinomas and 124 supraglottic carcinomas are reported. Of the vocal cord carcinomas, 63.3% were diagnosed in the early Tis and T1 stage. Seventy-six tumors were resected endoscopically, 128 by laryngofissure and chordectomy. Not one of these patients has lost his life, larynx or voice. In bilateral tumors of the T1b category, 2 patients developed local recurrences and lost their larynx. Sixty-two carcinomas of the Tis, T1a and T1b categories were irradiated primarily. Two of these patients died and 14 underwent laryngectomy for local recurrence. In T2 carcinomas a 5-year cure rate of 87.5% was achieved by vertical partial resection. The 5-year cure rate after laryngectomy or laryngectomy with neck dissection for T2N0 and T2N+ carcinoma was 86.2% and 75.0% respectively. Most treatment failures were due to late metastases which could not be controlled. In T3 carcinomas with a 5-year cure rate of 71.4% (N0) and 70.0% (N+) respectively, treatment failures were also mainly seen in patients with N0 necks where we did not carry out a prophylactic neck dissection. Five-year survival rates for primary surgery in supraglottic T1-T4 carcinomas were 100%, 82.4%, 84% and 58.3%. The widely hel opinion that laryngeal carcinoma should only be subjected to surgery for irradiation failure can no longer be sustained. More patients lose their larynx or their life after irradiation of small carcinomas than after primary surgery. Furthermore, too many patients have to undergo two major cancer treatments (irradiation and salvage surgery). In larger carcinomas radiotherapy produces a lower survival rate and too many patients require two stressful cancer therapies. The number of retained larynges is not substantially higher than with primary surgery. Primary irradiation for selected cases should be part of every therapy concept that aims at an adequate and individual treatment of every patient.