Voice outcomes after laser surgery vs. radiotherapy of early glottic carcinoma: a meta-analysis
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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
CO2-Lasertonsillotomy Under Local Anesthesia in Adults
Published on: November 6, 2019
Guangyuan Du1, Chuan Liu1, Wenbin Yu2
1Department of Otolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University Chongqing 400016, China.
Background:
Radiotherapy and laser resection are established treatment modalities for early glottic carcinoma. To date, there is no confirmed conclusion which treatment is better for early glottic cancer. The objective of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to compare the voice outcomes after laser resection (LS) and radiotherapy (RT) of Tis-T1N0M0 glottic carcinoma.
Methods:
we searched the relevant electronic studies and performed a meta-analysis based on 13 published studies. The Chi-square based I(2)-statistic test was performed to evaluate possible heterogeneity across the studies. Additionally, random-effects models were used to calculate mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results:
Overall, a total of 13 published studies were included in our study, with 368 patients in the RT group and 440 patients in the LS group, respectively. No significant differences in Voice Handicap Index (VHI), jitter and shimmer were found between RT and endoscopic LS among patients with Tis-T1N0M0 glottic carcinoma and T1aN0M0 laryngeal cancer. However, the acoustic voice analysis parameters of Fo values were significantly lower in RT group than that in LS group.
Conclusion:
The results from this meta-analysis support that the LS has more advantages than RT in terms of voice quality. However, more studies on voice outcome need to validate our findings.
