The accuracy of preoperative staging for surgically resected laryngeal cancer.

A retrospective analysis was undertaken to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative staging for laryngeal cancers. T (primary tumor) stage was evaluated more accurately by the combined assessment (clinical examination plus computed tomography (CT) for all laryngeal tumors when compared to the clinical examination (75% versus 31%, p less than 0.04). Supraglottic tumors were evaluated more accurately by CT than the clinical examination (86% versus 0%, p less than 0.01). There was no difference between CT and the clinical examination when evaluating glottic and transglottic lesions. The clinical examination, CT and combined assessment equally evaluated N (regional lymph node involvement) stage. The clinical examination and CT are complementary exams that should be used in conjunction when evaluating patients with advanced laryngeal cancers.