Radiotherapy for early glottic cancer and salvage surgery after recurrence

Early glottic cancer can be effectively treated with radiation or surgery, but recurrence is a possibility when using any of the treatment modalities. To assess the outcome of radiotherapy as initial treatment in the control of squamous cell carcinoma of vocal cord (T1) and the effectiveness of salvage surgery (endoscopic or open) after treatment failure. A retrospective study was based on the analysis of medical records from 43 patients with T1 squamous cell carcinoma of the glottis, radiotherapy as initial treatment and follow-up period of five years. The rate of recurrence after radiotherapy was 30.2% of the cases, mean diagnosis interval was 29.5 months. As an option for salvage treatment, patients underwent open partial laryngectomy or endoscopic surgery with control rates of 77.7% and 25% respectively. Our cases showed high rates of recurrence after radiotherapy and open partial laryngectomy was more effective for the salvage surgery.