[Clinical analysis of supraglottic cancer]

We treated 159 cases of supraglottic cancer including 53 cases of transglottic type from July, 1978 to December, 1984. The mean age was 65 years and man to woman ratio was fifth. Of those patients 15 were classified as T1, 36 as T2, 56 as T3 and 52 as T4 and 113 as N0, 22 as N1, 14 as N2 and 10 as N3. Stage classifications were stage I in 13, stage II in 21, stage III in 50 and stage IV in 75. Treatment modalities were divided radiation in 25, operation only in 105, pre-or post-operative radiation in 29. Multiple primary malignancies were detected in 18 cases (11.3%). Until December, 1986, 52 patients died. Cause of death were original cancer (33 cases, 63.5%), additional malignancies (5 cases, 9.6%), intercurrent disease (12 cases, 23.1%) and others. Deaths of original cancer were attributable to the metastasis to the cervical lymph node and/or distant metastasis, mainly to the lung. Metastatic lymph nodes at the initial treatment were found in 66.7% of patients who died of supraglottic and/or transglottic cancer. In order to improve survival rates, early diagnosis and radical dissection of positive lymph nodes are seemed to be important.