Comparison of total laryngectomy with surgical (cricohyoidopexy) and nonsurgical organ-preservation modalities in advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas: A multicenter retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: Functional outcome and quality of life (QOL) have become relevant endpoints in the field of laryngeal oncology, leading to the emergence of organ-preserving strategies. METHODS: The medical records of 166 patients with advanced (stages III and IV) laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) who were treated with a total laryngectomy, radiochemotherapy, or cricohyoidopexy (CHP) were reviewed. RESULTS: In the whole series, no statistically significant differences among the 3 treatment arms with respect to the overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) rates were observed. The organ-preservation rate was 45% for radiotherapy and 76.7% for CHP (p = .0002). Among the cT4a cases, a longer survival was observed for the patients treated with total laryngectomy (3 yr-OS = 78% vs 68% for CHP and 54% for radiochemotherapy, p = .031). CONCLUSIONS: In advanced laryngeal SCC, CHP shows survival rates comparable to those of radiochemotherapy and a higher larynx-preservation rate, although it may not replace radiochemotherapy because it can be recommended only in selected cases. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2012.