Thyroarytenoid muscle invasion in T1 glottic carcinoma

We report the prevalence of thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle invasion in 109 consecutive patients with T1 glottic carcinoma submitted to endoscopic laser cordectomy between February 1997 and January 2006, in order to evaluate if routine resection of the TA is necessary. A total of 109 patients staged as T1 underwent endoscopic treatment with carbon dioxide laser (CO(2)), 36 cases were treated with type I or II cordectomies, and 73 patients underwent type III, IV or V cordectomies, with resection of all or part of the TA. Over a total of 109 patients, 6 (5.5%) cases staged as pT1 showed TA invasion. The endoscopic treatment of T1 glottic cancer should be as conservative as possible in terms of TA resection, since muscle invasion is rare. In many cases, type III and IV cordectomies can be regarded as excessive treatment. Muscle invasion found histologically after type II cordectomy can be managed by further excision.