Life Expectancy in Patients Diagnosed with Extralaryngeal Malignancies and Vocal Cord Paralysis.

Objective: To determine whether the presence of vocal cord paralysis (VCP) has an impact on overall survival (OS) and quality of life in patients diagnosed with extralaryngeal malignancies.

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of patients at a quaternary medical center from 2007 to 2022. Information on demographics, cancer diagnosis, treatment, and intervention for VCP was collected. Patients were identified using International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 codes for various malignancies and VCP and cross-referenced. Patients with both VCP and extralaryngeal malignancy were included, while those without malignancy, with laryngeal cancer, VCP unrelated to cancer, or without laryngoscopy-confirmed VCP were excluded. No validated instruments to measure quality of life were utilized.

Results: A total of 346 patients with VCP related to 52 distinct, extralaryngeal malignancies were identified. Mean OS was 97.35 months. Mean OS for those diagnosed with early (stage 1 or 2) cancers was 101.48 months and 79.88 months for late (stage 3 or 4) cancers (P = <.0001). Many of our patients (56.6%) did not receive VCP treatment.

Conclusion: Treatment for cancer patients with VCP poses a unique challenge with a multitude of factors affecting management. However, given that patients survive months after VCP diagnosis, they should be offered treatments that carry low morbidity and increase their quality of life.