Oncologic outcomes of transoral laser microsurgery for early glottic carcinoma

Abstract

Introduction: Laryngeal carcinoma comprises 2%–5% of all malignant diseases. Treatment options for early glottic cancers are open partial laryngectomy, radiotherapy (RT), and transoral laser microsurgery (TLM). The goals of management of early glottic carcinoma are complete oncological clearance, organ preservation, and functional preservation (voice, swallowing, and airway). This study aims to review oncologic results of TLM for management of early glottic carcinoma at our institute. Methodology: Patients with early glottic squamous cell carcinoma, i.e., Tis, T1, and T2 stage lesions managed with TLM from January 2011 to 2014 were included in the study. Medical records were analyzed to acquire data. Results: Sixty-six patients underwent TLM for management of early glottic cancer between 2011 and 2014. Tumor-free margins were obtained after TLM in all 10 cases with Tis. For T1a, T1b, and T2 lesions, surgery obtained tumor-free margins in 89.5%, 77.8%, and 77.8% cases, respectively. Nine patients were found to have a positive margin and they underwent revision surgery. The overall local cure rate obtained by TLM was 92.4%. The overall 3-year survival rate was 98.5%. One patient died of myocardial infarction 2 years after TLM, giving a disease-specific 3-year survival rate of 100%. Conclusion: TLM is a safe and effective treatment option for management of early glottic cancer. Its outcomes are comparable to those of RT, and it has lesser cost, treatment duration, and morbidity.