Early outcomes after transoral CO2 laser resection of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: one centre's experience.

OBJECTIVES

To review early oncological outcomes following transoral CO2 laser resection of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

DESIGN

Retrospective review of hospital electronic database.

SETTING

Large district general hospital in England, UK.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Patients' three-year disease-specific survival and disease-free survival were evaluated, including post-operative complications, voice quality and swallowing status.

RESULTS

Seventy-seven patients (16 women and 61 men) were identified. Transoral laser excision of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx was undergone by 65 patients, and the same procedure in the hypopharynx by 12. Patients with laryngeal cancer had statistically better disease-specific survival than those with hypopharyngeal cancer (p = 0.021), although the cumulative disease-free survival probability was 0.71 for both larynx and hypopharynx groups. Patients who underwent laryngectomy following failed laser treatment or as a salvage procedure had poorer outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall results of this study were comparable with those of other, larger studies. At three-year follow up, cumulative disease-specific survival probabilities were 0.92 and 0.71 for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, respectively.