The Oncologic Value of Transoral Resection in Early-Stage Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Glottis: A Retrospective Study

Background and objective The treatment of early-stage laryngeal glottic cancer involves surgery or radiotherapy, and both have similar survival rates. However, discrepancies between systematic reviews in the literature point towards the continuous need for more data. In this study, we aimed to investigate the oncologic value of surgery at an ENT university department of a tertiary hospital in Greece. Materials and methods Patients with T₁ or T₂ laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma of the glottis who underwent transoral tumor resection between April 2014 and September 2021 at the hospital were deemed eligible for this study. Disease-free survival (DFS), local control rate (LCR), overall survival (OS), and laryngeal preservation were assessed. Results We enrolled 43 subjects with a median age of 67 years (range: 46-84 years). An overwhelming majority of the subjects were men (39/43). The most common stage was T_1a (22/43 subjects). OS was 74 months and DFS was 67 months. We noted local recurrence in 7/43 subjects. Three subjects passed away after five years of follow-up. Eventually, total laryngectomy was performed in 4/43 subjects, two of whom initially suffered from a T₂ glottic carcinoma. Conclusions Our results align with the findings of the systematic reviews supporting high survival rates, laryngeal preservation, and avoidance of radiotherapy complications observed after transoral surgery for early-stage laryngeal glottic carcinoma.