Curative-intent radiotherapy for glottic carcinoma in situ

The aim of the study was to update our experience treating patients with glottic carcinoma in situ (CIS) with curative radiotherapy (RT).

Fifty patients received continuous-course RT using once-daily fractionation. Twenty-eight (56%) had recurrent or persistent CIS after resection. Median total dose was 63.0 Gy; median dose per fraction was 2.25 Gy. Median follow-up was 9.6 years for all patients and 8.4 years for survivors.

After RT, 5 patients (10%) recurred locally; salvage surgery was performed in 4 (1 refused). Five-year outcomes were as follows: local control, 91%; ultimate local control (including patients successfully salvaged after local recurrence), 100%; ultimate local control with larynx preservation, 93%; local-regional control, 91%; ultimate local-regional control, 100%; distant metastases-free survival, 100%; cause-specific survival, 100%; and overall survival, 81%. No patient experienced a severe complication.

RT is an excellent treatment for patients with CIS recurrent after transoral excision and those with previously untreated CIS who are unsuitable for partial laryngectomy.