Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx

While many clinicians would intuitively believe that surgical treatment of laryngeal carcinoma is superior to irradiation, we have found that in many instances this is not the case. When the results of initial radiation therapy combined with the surgical salvage rates for irradiation failures are analyzed and compared with the results of initial surgery and subsequent salvage of surgical failures, the overall cure rates are quite comparable. This point has not been sufficiently emphasized in the treatment of laryngeal cancer. Its importance lies in the ability to offer a significant percentage of patients a form of treatment which carries with it much less functional morbidity without asking the patient to assume a greater risk with regard to the overall cure rate. This non-randomized retrospective study will analyze our experience in the treatment of laryngeal cancer with specific emphasis on the overall cure rate when megavoltage teletherapy is combined with surgical salvage of radiation failures.