Outcome of transoral laser microsurgery for T2-T3 tumors growing in the laryngeal anterior commissure

Background To evaluate the outcomes of transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) in the treatment of T2 to T3 laryngeal carcinomas growing in the laryngeal anterior commissure. Methods This study was a retrospective analysis of 107 patients. Overall survival, disease‐specific survival, and laryngectomy‐free survival were analyzed. Technical difficulties, postoperative complications, influence of the learning curve, and the number of surgeries were evaluated. Results Five‐year overall survival, disease‐specific survival, and laryngectomy‐free survival were 71%, 79.5%, and 71.4%, respectively. The probability of tumor relapse was related to the status of the margins (p = .01) and to surgical experience (p = .02), but not to tumor exposure (p = .78) or pT category (p = .36). Disease‐specific survival differed significantly between the group of patients treated in the early period of surgical experience and those treated in the advanced period of surgical experience (71% vs 94%; p = .02) Conclusion TLM is a useful treatment for T2 to T3 laryngeal carcinomas growing in the laryngeal anterior commissure when it is performed under an advanced learning curve. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2010