Results of surgical treatment alone for primary subglottic carcinoma

Primary subglottic carcinoma is rare and surgery is the most common therapeutic strategy for Chinese patients with this disease. To retrospectively evaluate surgically treated primary subglottic carcinoma treated with surgery. Patients with primary subglottic carcinoma who initially underwent surgery from 2005-2010 were grouped by surgical procedures with or without laryngeal function preservation and reviewed. Of 1815 patients with laryngeal cancer, 23 had a subglottic origin. Of these, 21 initially underwent surgery; 12 had 'early' (stage I/II) disease, and nine had 'advanced' (stage III/IV) disease. The actuarial 5-year OS was 73.9% [95% confidence interval (54.1% ∼ 93.7%)] for patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Among patients with early disease, the 5-year OS and DFS were 80% for partial laryngectomy and 71.4% for total laryngectomy. Patients with advanced disease underwent total laryngectomy, and the 5-year OS and DFS were 62.5%. Satisfactory oncologic outcomes can be achieved with initial surgery. Patients with early disease who underwent partial laryngectomy had a comparable prognosis to those who underwent total laryngectomy; deglutition and speech function were maintained.