Laryngeal Carcinoma Treatment Outcomes in Female Patients

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe characteristics of female patients with laryngeal cancer and to compare surgical and non-surgical treatment. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed as a multicenter study with data collected from all female patients diagnosed with larynx cancer at University of Kentucky from 2003 to 2020 and at University of Alabama at Birmingham from 2001 to 2021. Consecutive sampling was used to identify a total of 255 patients diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. Participants without date of diagnosis, pathology results, and treatment status were excluded. The planned study outcome was to evaluate preoperative characteristics, presentation, treatment, and outcomes. We also examined treatment outcomes for patients treated with surgical compared to non-surgical options. RESULTS: The 255 patients were included, with a median age of diagnosis of 59.5. Tobacco use and alcohol use were reported in 93.7% and 26.6% of patients, respectively. The most common laryngeal cancer subsite was supraglottic (n = 160, 62.7%). Of the patients with staging and primary treatment recorded (n = 244), 64.3% presented with T3 or T4 disease. Recurrence/persistence was documented in a total of 75 patients, with salvage surgery reported as secondary treatment in 68% of patients with recurrence. For all patients, surgical therapy was found to have improved outcomes over non-surgical primary therapy. CONCLUSION: With an increasing incidence of laryngeal cancer in female patients, characteristics unique to female patients should be considered when recommending therapy. With this data, the hope is to further analyze female patients and examine sex-based differences that may influence future treatment guidelines.