Results of radiation therapy and a combination of radiation and surgery in the laryngeal cancer.

A total of 348 out of 349 patients with laryngeal cancer were treated over the period 1960-1970. Radiation therapy alone was used in 262 of them and surgical intervention with postoperative irradiation in 86. Results in the form of a five-year survival rate in the group treated solely by irradiation were superior by 12% in the case of glottic than in that of supraglottic carcinoma (48.8% and 36.8% respectively). In the group of patients operated upon and subsequently irradiated, relatively satisfactory results were obtained in the advanced, i. e. the III stage of supraglottic carcinoma (5-year survival in 61.4%). The overall 5-year survival rate in the patients operated upon and then irradiated proved to be better by 24.5% in supraglottic and by 4.1% in the glottic carcinoma, than in patients subjected solely to irradiation. Of 27 cases of relapses, 6 patients were successfully treated by laryngectomy. Post-irradiation complications involved most frequently minor cases of endolaryngeal edema; among the more serious ones were 2 cases of radiation myelitis. The discussion on the problem of radiation dosage in cancer of the larynx, the treatment of regional metastases and combined surgico-radiation therapy.