A Critical Reappraisal of Primary and Recurrent Advanced Laryngeal Cancer Staging

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) can involve different anatomic subunits with peculiar surgical and prognostic implications. Despite conflicting outcomes for the same stage of disease, the current staging system considers different lesions in a single cluster. The aim of this study was to critically discuss clinical and pathologic staging of primary and recurrent advanced LSCC in order to define current staging pitfalls that impede a precise and tailored treatment strategy.

Thirty patients who underwent total laryngectomy in the past 3 years for primary and recurrent advanced squamous cell LSCC were analyzed, comparing endoscopic, imaging, and pathologic findings. Involvement of the different laryngeal subunits, vocal-fold motility, and spreading pattern of the tumor were blindly analyzed. The diagnostic accuracy and differences between clinicoradiologic and pathologic findings were studied with standard statistical analysis.

Discordant staging was performed in 10% of patients, and thyroid and arytenoid cartilage were the major diagnostic pitfalls. Microscopic arytenoid involvement was significantly more present in case of vocal-fold fixation ( P = .028). Upstaging was influenced by paraglottic and pre-epiglottic space cancer involvement, posterior commissure, subglottic region, arytenoid cartilage, and penetration of thyroid cartilage; on the contrary, involvement of the inner cortex or extralaryngeal spread tended to be down-staged. Radiation-failed tumors less frequently involved the posterior third of the paraglottic space ( P = .022) and showed a significantly worse pattern of invasion ( P < .001).

Even with the most recent technologies, 1 in 10 patients with advanced LSCC in this case series was differently staged on clinical examination, with cartilage involvement representing the main diagnostic pitfall.