Gender differences in cancer of the larynx

Gender differences in the incidence and mortality rates for cancers of the lung, colon, and larynx have previously been noted. The goal of this project was to identify gender differences in prognostic variables for survival and recurrence for patients with cancer of the larynx. The medical records of 193 patients with cancer of the larynx treated initially between 1973 and 1985 were examined retrospectively. A total of 151 men and 42 women were included. A majority of men developed glottic cancers, whereas a majority of women developed supraglottic cancers. Age was prognostically important for both genders; however, comorbidity, symptom severity, anatomic subsite, and TNM stage all had different impacts on survival and recurrence in men and women. No gender difference in initial treatment was found. This study suggests that when designing and analyzing the results from clinical studies of cancer of the larynx, it is important to employ stratification based on gender.