Role of partial laryngectomy after irradiation in the treatment of laryngeal cancer: a view from the United Kingdom.

This retrospective study evaluates the use of conservation surgical salvage techniques in cases of early (T1 and T2) laryngeal cancer after full-dose external irradiation. Fifty patients in one London hospital and 68 patients in another were studied for the period 1963 to 1988. Treatment policy directed that the majority of limited glottic and supraglottic tumors should be treated initially by external irradiation. The small number of glottic treatment failures had a good chance of salvage by vertical partial laryngectomy if recurrence or a new primary was detected early. Recurrence of supraglottic cancer was salvaged occasionally by horizontal partial laryngectomy if strict indications were observed. Total laryngectomy remained the final minority salvage option.