Advanced laryngeal cancer. Relevance of pathologic stage to survival and therapy

Sixty-seven laryngectomies performed for stage III and stage IV laryngeal carcinoma were reviewed. Stage III disease was managed by surgery alone. Treatment of stage IV disease was divided equally between surgery only and surgery plus radiotherapy. Five-year survival rates by clinical stage were 73% for stage III and 39% for stage IV. Clinical underestimation of disease occurred in 25% of stage III lesions. Unrecognized cartilage invasion and nodal disease occurred with equal frequency. Survival rates computed on the basis of pathologic staging were 91% for stage III and 41% for stage IV. Patients with stage IV disease who were treated with surgery alone had a 28% survival rate, while those receiving both radiotherapy and surgery had a 56% survival rate. In our opinion, surgical pathologic staging more accurately predicts survival than does clinical staging. Surgery alone appears to be adequate therapy for pathologic stage III laryngeal cancer. Addition of radiotherapy significantly improves survival in stage IV disease.