Management of patients with cancer of the larynx in Suez Canal University Teaching Hospital: 5 years’ experience

Background Suez Canal University Hospital, which is the only tertiary care facility in the Suez Canal and Sinai area, is estimated to service more than 5 million patients. Cancer of the larynx, which is the most common head and neck cancer, is also the most common tumor presented to the otolaryngology departments. Aim To evaluate the results of interventional protocols for patients with cancer of the larynx treated in Suez Canal University Hospital. Patients and methods This was a retrospective study carried out on 53 patients with cancer of the larynx reviewed from 1 January 2007 to 1 January 2012 according to demographic, clinical, radiological, operative, pathological data, and possible complications. Results Fifty-three patients, mean age 58 years (71.1% were from urban areas), were studied. The main presenting symptom was hoarseness of voice (66%). Glottis carcinoma was the most common type of cancer found in 41.1% patients. Stage IVa was the most common presenting stage in 39.6% of the patients. Emergent tracheostomy was performed for 39.6% of the patients. According to the treatment protocol, single treatment modality was recommended for 38 (71.6%) patients: 17 (32%) patients were recommended total laryngectomy, followed by radiotherapy in 11 (20.7%) patients, chemotherapy was recommended for eight (15.1%) patients, concurrent chemoradiotherapy was offered to one (1.9%) patient, and partial laryngectomy with preservation of both arytenoids was offered to one (1.9%) patient. In addition, 15 (28.4%) patients were subjected to combined therapy: total laryngectomy combined with radiotherapy in nine (17%) patients and total laryngectomy with chemoradiotherapy in six (11.4%) patients. Conclusion Although the standards of management of laryngeal carcinoma in Suez Canal University hospital are almost in compliance with regional and international standards, we need to deal with the time delay between the diagnosis and definitive treatment to revise the items in the medical records and its registration.