Background: A decline in laryngectomies and survival in laryngeal cancer has been reported, especially among patients with advanced tumors.
Methods: Of 1058 patients with laryngeal cancer diagnosed from 1978 to 2007 in the Uppsala-Örebro region in Sweden, 263 T3 to T4 tumors treated with curative intent were studied retrospectively. Two time periods were defined, 1978 to 1992 and 1993 to 2007.
Results: Glottic tumors decreased constituting 68.6% of cases in 1978 to 1992 and 47.9% in 1993 to 2007. Laryngectomies were performed in 38.8% and 34.5% in the corresponding time periods. The use of laryngectomy was not strongly prognostic. A decline in overall survival (OS) over time could only be identified for the first year of follow-up. Chemotherapy was only used in a minority of cases.
Conclusion: The marked decrease of glottic site may mark a shift in etiology. Laryngectomy was not strongly associated with improved survival. The absence of improved survival calls for intensified research.
Keywords: cancer; glottic; laryngeal; laryngectomy; supraglottic.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.