Long-term quality of life after transoral laser microsurgery for laryngeal carcinoma

Background and Objectives Previous studies showed good short‐term Quality of life (QOL) after Transoral Laser Microsurgery (TLM) for laryngeal cancer. Here, we aimed to evaluate QOL after TLM in the long‐term. Methods Prospective longitudinal study. Sixty‐two consecutive disease‐free patients were evaluated using UW‐QOL v4 and SF‐12 questionnaires, 1 and 5 years after TLM. Changes over time were assessed according to age, location, and tumor size. Long‐term VHI‐10 was also evaluated. Results The mean follow‐up time was 5.41 ± 2.02 years. No differences in the global UW‐QOL score were observed between 1 and 5 years after TLM (1135.00 vs. 1127.20; P = 0.4). Activity worsened slightly in the long‐term (93.03 vs. 87.70; P = 0.02). Forty‐two and 58% of the patients reported that their health 1 and 5 years after treatment was much better than prior to diagnosis. Initially, 3.3% considered their health much worse, which was reduced to 1.7% at 5 years. SF‐12 scores remained unchanged for both physical and mental aspects (P > 0.05). The VHI‐10 was 3.81 ± 5.7 for supraglottic and 7.2 ± 9.6 for glottic tumors. Conclusion Patients treated with TLM present a very good long‐term QOL. Only activity deteriorates over time, while voice and swallowing remain satisfactory in the majority of patients. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:789–795. © 2016 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.