C. Finizia et al., INTELLIGIBILITY AND PERCEPTUAL RATINGS AFTER TREATMENT FOR LARYNGEAL-CANCER - LARYNGECTOMY VERSUS RADIOTHERAPY, The Laryngoscope, 108(1), 1998, pp. 138-143
In Sweden the most common treatment for T3-T4 laryngeal carcinoma is r
adical radiotherapy (with surgery for salvage), because the voice is t
hus preserved. A Swedish study showed that surgery yielded a significa
ntly better 5-year survival and locoregional control at 3 years in T4
laryngeal carcinoma than radical radiotherapy. With these results in m
ind, we wanted to compare the different modes of treatment (surgery wi
th a tracheoesophageal [TE] fistula and radical radiotherapy) with res
pect to the patients' speech proficiency. Twenty-eight subjects (with
14 patients in each treatment group) were judged by inexperienced and
experienced listeners according to intelligibility by transcription an
d three perceptual ratings. From the perceptual ratings of speech inte
lligibility, voice quality, and speech acceptability we conclude that
there is a significant difference, the irradiated speakers being rated
higher that the tracheoesophageal speakers. It is also clear that mos
t of the TE and irradiated laryngeal speaking patients are comparable
to normal laryngeal speakers in intelligibility by transcription. Expe
rienced and inexperienced listeners are able to rate TE and irradiated
laryngeal speech reliably and similarly according to intelligibility
by transcription. The inexperienced listeners rated the TE speakers si
gnificantly higher than did the experienced listeners.