Hypofractionated radiotherapy and surgery compared to standard radiotherapy in early glottic cancer

Early-stage glottic laryngeal cancer is treated with surgery or radiotherapy (RT), but limited randomized data exists to support one modality over the other. This study evaluates survival differences in early glottic cancer patients treated with either surgery or RT.

14,498 patients with early glottic cancer diagnosed from 2004 to 2015 and treated with surgery or RT were identified in the National Cancer Database. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze differences in overall survival (OS) by treatment (surgery vs. RT) and radiation dose fractionation. Cox regression modeling and propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis were performed. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were computed.

Median follow-up and median OS for all patients were 49.5 and 118 months, respectively. The estimated 5-year OS for surgery and RT was 77.5% and 72.6%, respectively (P < 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, aHR (95% CI) for surgery compared to RT was 0.87 (0.81-0.94, P = 0.0004). Compared to RT regimen 63-67.5 Gray (Gy) in 28-30 fractions, worse survival was noted for RT regimen 66-70 Gy in 33-35 fractions (aHR 1.15, 95% CI 1.07-1.23, P = 0.0003). When compared with hypofractionated RT (63-67.5 Gy in 28-30 fractions), patients undergoing surgery no longer showed improved OS (aHR 0.94, 95% CI 0.86-1.02, P = 0.154). The finding was confirmed on PSM analysis (surgery aHR 0.95, 95% CI 0.87-1.05, P = 0.322).

In early glottic tumors, patients treated with surgery demonstrated improved survival compared to RT, but when hypofractionation was considered, there were no significant differences in OS between patients undergoing surgery or RT.