[Laryngeal cancer in Finland]

The risk of developing laryngeal cancer increases after 50 years of age. Of the risk factors, smoking has decreased significantly, but alcohol consumption has increased. The significance of HPV infection is lower compared with oropharyngeal cancer. Early laryngeal cancer can be successfully treated with surgery or radiation therapy. For cancers that have spread further (T3 and T4), a combination of surgery and radiotherapy or a combination of radiotherapy and cytostatic chemotherapy are used. By using a voice prosthesis, most patients are able to achieve a fairly good speech quality after laryngectomy.