The role of tumor size and patient's age as prognostic factors in laryngeal cancer

The loco-regional recurrence of laryngeal carcinoma in patients who underwent total laryngectomy is related to numerous factors. Aim of the present study was to investigate the role of patient's age and tumor size in the recurrence rate of patients. Additional aim of the current study was to investigate the possible associations between the size of the tumor and other characteristics. In 1st Department of Otorhinolaryngology of AHEPA University Hospital, from 1992 to 2007, 255 patients with laryngeal carcinoma underwent total laryngectomy. Accurate data regarding the size of the tumor were obtained. Total laryngectomy was the initial treatment in 212 patients, while in the remaining 43 patients was performed as salvage surgery after recurrence. The median tumor size was 2.74 cm (0.8-5.5 cm). There was no significant difference in the median tumor size between the patients who had recurrence (2.87 cm) and the disease free patients (2.69 cm). The median size of glottic tumors (2.47 cm) was smaller than that of supraglottic (2.95 cm) and of subglottic tumors (3.27 cm) (p