Oncological results of endoscopic resections of Tis and T1 glottic carcinomas by carbon dioxide laser

A cohort of 88 patients with glottic cancer (13 Tis, 75 T1) who underwent e ndoscopic CO2 laser excision between January 1995 and June 1997 was prospec tively studied. The mean follow-up was 43 months (range, 30 to 60 months). The depth and extent of the excision (graded according to the European Lary ngological Society Classification, which includes 5 types of resection) wer e based on the results of a preoperative and intraoperative diagnostic test battery. Five patients died of other diseases, and none of glottic cancer. Of the 12 patients who developed a local recurrence, 5 underwent a second endoscopic procedure, 5 a total laryngectomy, and 1 a supracricoid laryngec tomy, and 1 was treated with radiotherapy. The 5-year local control rate wi th endoscopic surgery alone, according to the Kaplan-Meier method, was 91%. None of the variables (8 related to the tumor and 2 to the treatment) test ed in a univariate analysis by the log-rank test was found to have a signif icant impact on disease-free survival rates. The present study confirmed th at endoscopic partial cordectomy for Tis and T1 glottic cancers can be rega rded as a valid alternative to radiotherapy in terms of oncological results .