[Invasion of cricoid cartilage by T2-T3 laryngeal cancer]

This paper reports a study of microscopic infiltration of the cartilage of the cricoid carried out in 335 patients with T2-T3 carcinomas of the larynx who had undergone total laryngectomy. The results of the investigation revealed microscopic infiltration of the cricoid cartilage in 12% (14/335) of the cases examined. The incidence, however, was much higher in those cases of extension to the hypoglottis (28% vs 5%, p < 0.0001) or in cases of an even greater extension of the tumor (13% vs 7%). In the 161 patients with neoplasias situated in the glottis, there was cricoid invasion in 30 cases regardless of the tumor class. However, with regard to cases with extension to the hypoglottis, a higher incidence of cricoid infiltration (20% vs 8%, p < 0.002) for all T classes was observed. As for as those cases with neoplasias in the supraglottis are concerned, there were no patients classified T2 (0/50) with cricoid infiltration against 8% in T3 subjects (10/124). In these subjects extension to the hypoglottis led to microscopic invasion of the cricoid cartilage in a greater number of patients (31% vs 3%, p < 0.0001). These observations confirm that microscopic infiltration of the cartilagenous skeleton of the larynx, especially of the cricoid, is relatively frequent. Factor of even higher risk are occurrence in the glottis and, in all the situations examined, extension to the hypoglottis. In addition, except in cases of vestibular T2, there is a 5 to 8% possibility of microscopic infiltration of cricoid cartilage even in the absence of clinical signs of hypoglottic invasion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)