Background: This study was undertaken to analyze the local control rates and survival of patients undergoing endoscopic laser surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx as a salvage procedure for recurrent tumors after radiotherapy.
Methods: Twenty-four patients underwent endoscopic laser surgery for radiation failure at our hospital from 1988 to 1995. All patients were men, between 45 and 88 years old. The localization of the recurrence was in the supraglottis in 3 cases and in the glottis in 21 cases. The postirradiation recurrences were staged rT1 in 18 patients and rT2 in 6 patients.
Results: Local recurrence after laser surgery developed in six patients (25%) who had a total laryngectomy. Voice preservation was thus achieved in 75% of patients. No patient died because of the laryngeal cancer, and the observed 5-year survival rate was 76%.
Conclusions: These results indicate that in selected cases, endoscopic laser surgery may be used successfully for treating radiation failure of early laryngeal carcinomas.