Quality of life after treatment for early laryngeal carcinoma

Radiotherapy and surgery for early laryngeal cancer achieve comparably good results in patient survival, and the choice of treatment between them is b eing c influenced increasingly by the expected voice quality and quality of life (QoL). The superiority of vocal function after radiotherapy has been shown in previous objective voice assessment studies. This study compared t he QoL, or long-term survivors after endoscopic laser surgery, or radiother apy fur early laryngeal carcinoma. QoL was evaluated with two validated que stionnaires: the global EORTC QLQ-C30 and the head- and neck-specific EORTC QLQ-H&N35. A total of 62 patients were included. Among 56 patients complet ing the questionnaires (90% completion rate) 40 were treated by endoscopic CO2 laser surgery and 16 with radiation therapy, All 56 patients showed a g ood global QoL with no significant difference between the two treatment mod alities, The head- and neck-specific evaluation revealed significantly bett er scores for surgically treated patients in questions about swallowing Of solid food, xerostomia, and tooth problems, but no difference in questions about voice quality. Both treatment modalities achieve goad Vol after treat ment of early laryngeal tumors. Irradiated patients mainly complain about x erostomia related problems. In contrast to objective measurements long-ten survivors after surgery do not rate their voice poorer than irradiated pati ents. The EORTC questionnaires are validated and useful tools in assessing QoL and should further be used in prospective trials.