Outcomes of Early-stage Glottic Carcinoma Treated with Radiation Therapy: A Single Institution Experience

To evaluate the outcomes of radical intent radiation therapy in early glottic carcinoma (EGC), including local control rate (LCR), disease-free survival (DFS), death specific free survival (DSFS), and overall survival (OS) rates, in Saudi patients treated at a single institution.  Materials and methods: This is an institutional review board (IRB) approved, retrospective study of 27 patients with T1-2 N0 M0, early glottic carcinoma (EGC) who were treated from 2010 to 2015 at our institution with different radiotherapy (RT) fractionation regimens. The regimens included six different fractionation schedules of radiotherapy (RT): 50 Gy (20 x 2.5 Gy) dose prescribed to 95% isodose line, 52.4 Gy (20 x 2.52 Gy), 63 Gy (28 x 2.25 Gy), 66 Gy (33 x 2 Gy), and 70 Gy (35 x 2 Gy). The cohort was stratified into two groups, ≤ 52.5 Gy (n=15) and > 52.5 Gy (n=12). The median follow-up of all patients was 31.7 months (range 7-82).

The mean age of the cohort was 64.5 years (median 65, range: 41-83). Eleven patients (40.7%) had a history of smoking. The majority of the cohort was with T1a EGC (70.4%, n=19), and anterior commissure invasion was seen in three patients (11.1%). The mean RT doses were 55.6 Gy (range: 50-70). The five-year LCR, DFS, DSFS, and OS rates were 83.1%, 80.0%, 96.2%, and 92.6%, respectively. The LCR rates for those receiving a dose of 52.5 Gy or less were 61.3 months compared to 89.5 months for those who received more than 52.5 Gy (p=0.994). Non-smokers and patients with an unknown smoking history achieved a five-year LCR of 100%, while patients with a positive smoking history achieved a five-year LCR of 60.6% (p=0.044).

Radiation therapy for EGC in our patients showed reasonable five-year LCR with larynx preservation at 83.1%, DFS 80.0%, five-year OS rate 92.6%, and DSFS rate 96.2%. We found that smoking had a significant correlation with LCR. However, large prospective trials are warranted to evaluate the efficacy of overall treatment time, dose per fraction of above 2 Gy, and smoking effect.