Life Expectancy in Patients Diagnosed with Extralaryngeal Malignancies and Vocal Cord Paralysis

To determine whether the presence of vocal cord paralysis (VCP) has an impact on overall survival (OS) and quality of life in patients diagnosed with extralaryngeal malignancies.

This was a retrospective chart review of patients at a quaternary medical center from 2007 to 2022. Information on demographics, cancer diagnosis, treatment, and intervention for VCP was collected. Patients were identified using International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 codes for various malignancies and VCP and cross-referenced. Patients with both VCP and extralaryngeal malignancy were included, while those without malignancy, with laryngeal cancer, VCP unrelated to cancer, or without laryngoscopy-confirmed VCP were excluded. No validated instruments to measure quality of life were utilized.

A total of 346 patients with VCP related to 52 distinct, extralaryngeal malignancies were identified. Mean OS was 97.35 months. Mean OS for those diagnosed with early (stage 1 or 2) cancers was 101.48 months and 79.88 months for late (stage 3 or 4) cancers (P = <.0001). Many of our patients (56.6%) did not receive VCP treatment.

Treatment for cancer patients with VCP poses a unique challenge with a multitude of factors affecting management. However, given that patients survive months after VCP diagnosis, they should be offered treatments that carry low morbidity and increase their quality of life.