Quality of Life for Patients Following Total Laryngectomy vs Chemoradiation for Laryngeal Preservation

Abstract

Background:The incorporation of chemotherapy and radiation, either sequentially or concurrently, has been increasingly used for organ preservation in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer. Traditional outcome measures of clinical response such as locoregional control and survival have been similar for patients treated with chemoradiotherapy and those treated with total laryngectomy (TL). The impact of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for laryngeal preservation on the overall quality of life (QOL) of patients has not been clearly evaluated, particularly in direct comparison with TL.Objective: To compare the QOL of patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy with those treated with TL.

Secular Trends in the Survival of Patients with Laryngeal Carcinoma, 1995–2007

“…The treatment of laryngeal cancer can be morbid, causing impaired vocalization, dysphagia, aspiration, and cosmetic deformity [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . The subsite (glottis, supraglottis, or subglottis) and extent of cancer determine the treatment options available 9 .…”

Validation of the EORTC QLQ‐C30 and EORTC QLQ‐H&N35 in patients with laryngeal cancer after surgery

“…Another study group 13 demonstrated that there were only marginal differences on the Senses scale between partial laryngectomy (N 5 12) and total laryngectomy (N 5 11) patients who had recurring laryngeal carcinomas after having completed radiotherapy. Comparisons between chemoradiation and surgery-radiation (total laryngectomy with postoperative radiation therapy 2 ) showed that the QLQ-C30 could not differentiate well enough between the side effects of the 2 treatments. In contrast, the QLQ-H&N35 indicated differences in amount of coughing, use of painkillers, sensory disturbances (more prevalent in the surgery-radiation group), and dryness of mouth (more prevalent in the chemoradiation group).…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Its psychometric characteristics were published for the first time in 1992. 6 In that study, the internal consis-tency of the QLQ-C30 scales ranged from 0.28 (Cognitive Functioning scale) to 0.90 (Global Health Status) (see Table 1).…”

Refinement of the free radial forearm flap reconstructive technique after resection of large oropharyngeal malignancies with excellent functional results

“…Studies that compare the quality of life of patients after primary radiochemotherapy (pRCT) with total laryngectomy come to different results: Some state that the quality of life after pRCT is better than after laryngectomy [127], [128] while others conclude that the quality of life is equal after both therapeutic procedures [129], [130].…”