Surgical salvage for recurrent “early” glottic cancers

A 25-year retrospective study of 143 early (T1 and T2 N0) glottic cancer, patients was done to determine the recurrence rate following initial radiation therapy, the surgical salvage rate, and incidence of cervical lymph node metastases. Radiation therapy gave a 5-year cure rate of 78% for stage I and 57% for stage II. Total laryngectomy for recurrent squamous cell carcinoma had a 5-year salvage rate of 66% for stage I and 61% for stage II recurrent tumors. The overall 5-year cure rate with initial and second therapy for stage I and stage II glottic cancers was 93% and 83%, respectively.