The larynx is a common site of head and neck cancer with more than 10,000 cases annually. Over the past two decades, treatment for advanced-stage laryngeal cancer has shifted from primary surgical therapy to organ preservation treatments with chemotherapy and radiation, according to study background.
Blake Joseph LeBlanc, M.D., of Louisiana State University Health-Shreveport (LSU Health), and co-authors examined survival rates at their institution for primary surgical treatment of advanced-stage tumor with outcomes in the National Cancer Database (NCDB).
"This study shows that LSU Health treats a high percentage of patients with advanced-stage laryngeal carcinoma who have lower socioeconomic status, yet still has improved survival rates compared with the NCDB over the study time period. This contributes to a growing body of literature that suggests that initial surgical therapy for advanced-stage disease may result in increased survival compared with organ preservation," authors note.
LeBlanc et al. Improvements in survival and disparities for advanced-stage laryngeal cancer. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. EPub Ahead of Print, 2014. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2014.2998 [Abstract]