Salvage laryngectomy for failed conservative treatment of laryngeal cancer.

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine the rate of salvage laryngectomy after failure of radiation or chemoradiation over 10-year course, identify factors associated with increased risk of treatment failure, assess survival after salvage laryngectomy.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Methods: Twenty patients who underwent salvage total laryngectomy were studied. Overall interval to recurrence (ITR) was 9.9 months, overall postsalvage-laryngectomy survival (PSL-OAS) 25 months, and interval to death (PSL-ITD) 15.8 months. Mortality was 85%.

Results: Four patients failed chemoradiation and 16 failed radiation alone. Based on treatment, there was no difference in ITR (12.8 vs. 8.8 months, P = .27) or PSL-OAS (27.5 vs. 24.4 months, P = .86). PSL-ITD was significantly higher after chemoradiation (27.5 vs. 12.2 months, P = .02). Advanced T-stage patients were significantly younger than early-stage (53 vs. 64 years, P = .02), but had no significant difference in ITR (12.7 vs. 6.8 months, P = .08), PSL-OAS (20.1 vs. 33.6 months, P = .35), or PSL-ITD (12 vs. 21.6 months, P = .1). Analysis by site and differentiation showed no significant differences. Heavy alcohol use/alcoholism was reported in >50%. Rate of fistulization was 20%. Three patients currently survive, with average postsalvage-laryngectomy disease-free survival (PSL-DFS) 77 months.

Conclusions: Salvage laryngectomy is an uncommon procedure (7% over 10-year period). There is no difference in survival after salvage laryngectomy for radiation or chemoradiation failure. Patients failing chemoradiation have longer PSL-ITD than those failing radiation alone. Patients with T3-4 tumors tend to be younger. T-stage of tumor does not affect rate of salvage procedure. Fistulae formed in 20%. Neither location nor differentiation affects survival. Surgical salvage after primary conservative treatment is associated with an approximately 2-year survival.