Paediatric laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: Systematic review and pooled analysis

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), while a relatively common malignancy in the adult population, is exceedingly rare in paediatric patients. Nonetheless, the incidence appears to be rising when compared to paediatric cancers in general. 1 This is concerning given how little is known about head and neck SCC in the paediatric population. 2 Chow et al noted an upward trend in paediatric head and neck SCC. They attribute this rise in incidence to therapeutic irradiation, immunosuppression, improved survival of cancer patients and possible increased prevalence of HPV. 3 It is unclear whether improvements in diagnosis have also contributed to this increased incidence. While HNSCC in the paediatric population may be infrequent, laryngeal involvement is even less frequent and understudied.In a literature review from 1999, Ferlito et al noted 47 cases of paediatric laryngeal malignancies spanning 20 years. 4 They noted that embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma was the most common histology (42.5%), while SCC accounted for 27.6% of cases. The low incidence of laryngeal SCC in the paediatric population results in the paucity of available literature. As such, the objective of this study was to examine the outcomes of reported cases of paediatric SCC of the larynx via pooled analysis and systematic review. | ME THODS | Literature reviewA systematic review was performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Study design for the systematic review was developed with the primary objective of evaluating oncologic history and outcomes in paediatric laryngeal SCC. A two-person technique was used to develop a search strategy for EMBASE, MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases. Additionally, references of full-text articles were also screened and included. Duplicate abstracts were removed using Covidence reference manager software. The same software was also used to complete a two-person title screening and a full-paper screening.