[Radiotherapy in carcinoma of the larynx (author's transl)]

At the present time there are two methods of treating cancer of the larynx: surgery and radiotherapy. Although surgery is often indicated after radiotherapy for a stage III laryngeal cancer, it should not be used systematically when the tumour seems to have disappeared or there is only a small remnant. In numerous cases this remnant disappears during the post-radiotherapy period. Radiotherapy is an effective means of treating cancer of the larynx. When there is chronic oedema or perichondritis after radiotherapy and there is suspicion of a relapse, laryngectomy should only be done after histological confirmation, even if this requires several biopsies. The pathogenesis of post-radiotherapy oedema is discussed.