[Supraglottic and glottic carcinomas. Study of the incidence in the last 31 years].

Introduction: Laryngeal carcinoma is a common neoplasia in our country. It is well-known that the supraglottis is more frequently involved in Mediterranean countries. We present our results on the incidence of neoplasias affecting supraglottis and glottis and we find a change in the normal trend.

Objective: To study the incidence of glottic and supraglottic tumours in our hospital over the last 31 years. We also analyze risk factors such as smoking and alcohol in the population of the Valencian Region.

Patients And Method: We performed a retrospective review of 991 patients diagnosed as having carcinomas of the glottis and supraglottis between 1974 and 2005. The epidemiological data about the consumption of tobacco and alcohol in the population of the Valencian Region, Spain, are obtained from descriptive epidemiological studies (Health Statistics and the 2003 National Health Survey).

Conclusions: With a total of 548 carcinomas of the glottis and 443 of the supraglottis, we find a change in the incidence maintained since 1990, with statistically significant differences (P=.0056). Thus, we can state that the glottis is more frequently affected than the supraglottis. Changes in the consumption of tobacco and alcohol cannot explain this current change.