Voice change after radiotherapy. Some preliminary results

Area of Science:

• Laryngology
• Oncology
• Acoustic analysis

Background:

• Vocal cord function is crucial for speech production.
• Cancer and radiotherapy can significantly impact vocal cord physiology and acoustics.
• Objective acoustic measures are needed to assess treatment effects on voice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze spectral characteristics of voice in patients with laryngeal cancer and head/neck cancer.
• To evaluate the impact of radiotherapy on vocal spectral levels.
• To compare vocal changes between different cancer types and normal subjects.

Main Methods:

• One-third octave spectral analysis of spoken sentences.
• Recordings from 5 laryngeal cancer patients, 5 head/neck cancer patients (non-vocal cord), and 12 controls.
• Data collected pre-treatment, weekly during radiotherapy, and post-treatment.

Main Results:

• Laryngeal cancer patients had lower spectral levels during and months after radiotherapy, normalizing by one year.
• Head/neck cancer patients (non-vocal cord) exhibited higher spectral levels.
• Radiotherapy on normal vocal cord tissue also increased spectral levels.

Conclusions:

• Laryngeal cancer and its radiotherapy significantly alter vocal spectral properties.
• Vocal spectral analysis can track recovery post-treatment for laryngeal cancer.
• Head/neck cancers not involving vocal cords and radiotherapy itself may elevate vocal spectral levels.