Metastases of cancer of the vestibule of the larynx to the regional lymph nodes of the neck and their treatment

Clinical data about cancer metastases of the vestibule of larynx to neck regional lymph nodes are presented. Indications for Crile's operation and fascial excision of neck mucosa and lymph nodes during combined therapy are described. A modification of the excision based on a temporary section of m. sternocleidomastoideus at the sternum is proposed. Remote results of therapy of cancer metastases of the vestibule of larynx to neck regional lymph nodes are discussed.     

Radiologic evaluation of larynx cancer

The authors present the value of imaging for preoperative evaluation of structures that are not assessed or incompletely assessed on physical and endoscopic examination. Discussed are CT, MRI, and positron emission tomography-CT and the appropriate selection of each method to provide information, including the presence or absence of extent of disease to the pre-epiglottic and paraglottic spaces and the subglottis, cartilage invasion, extralaryngeal spread of disease, nodal metastasis, and tumor volume.     

Epidermoid carcinoma of the nasal vestibule: Current treatment evaluation

Twelve cases of epidermoid carcinoma of the nasal vestibule with a median follow-up of three years were reviewed to evaluate effectiveness of current treatment modalities. Patients were initially treated by surgery, irradiation, or a combination of both therapies. The authors conclude 1. epidermoid carcinoma of the nasal vestibule is an aggressive disease; 2. once metastases have occurred, they are poorly controlled by surgery and/or irradiation; and 3. initial therapy should be directed to both control of the primary and prevention of distant metastases.     

Artificial larynx prosthesis: Comparative clinical evaluation

The work pioneered by Drs. Singer and Blom established the clinical feasibility of controlled tracheoesophageal fistula for generation of fluent esophageal speech. There have been numerous practical difficulties that have been encountered with the use of voice prosthesis. Problems encountered are: extrusion, speech initiation delay, leakage around the prosthesis, stoma obstruction, and low volume output. A second generation laryngeal prosthesis is introduced for comparison. Its design incorporates features that will significantly improve the clinical problems encountered; extrusion is minimized; and the new prosthesis allows for one size to fit all patients. A clinical trial was established to directly compare the artificial speech generated by the currently existing laryngeal prosthesis. Each laryngectomy patient was fitted with three different devices and the resulting speech was evaluated. Video recordings of patients are presented to illustrate the type of speech produced by each device. Comparisons of intelligibility, fluency, volume, and patient preference are made. Results indicate that a significant variation in the speech obtained is critically dependent on the choice of prosthesis.     

Primary treatment of cancer of the larynx

Analysis of 3,445 cases of cancer of the larynx with a follow-up of 99.8 per cent shows that over a period in which the survival has improved neither the modality of the treatment nor the severity of the cancer has changed. Improved survival may be due to socioeconomic factors or an improvement in the quality of treatment.     

Survival of cancer of the larynx related to treatment

Analysis of 3445 cases of cancer of the larynx has been made with reference to primary (first) and secondary treatments. It is easy to confirm that while radiotherapy is inferior to laryngectomy in the cure of larger glottic tumours, it is preferable in many cases because salvage surgery is possible and successful. Salvage surgery cannot be shown to be successful in larger supraglottic tumours, which should be considered for primary surgery. Radiotherapy appears better than surgery for small tumours.     

Surgical treatment of the neck in cancer of the larynx

Current concepts in management of the clinically negative and clinically positive neck in laryngeal cancer are reviewed. Occult disease in the neck not detected by physical and radiographic examination may also be difficult to identify on routine histologic examination. Immunohistochemistry or molecular analysis may detect metastatic involvement not apparent by light microscopy. The surgeon should be aware of the relatively high incidence of micrometastases in patients with laryngeal cancer to establish optimal treatment approaches. Elective treatment of the neck is recommended for supraglottic tumors staged T2 or higher, and glottic or subglottic tumors staged T3 or higher. The neck may be treated electively by either surgery or irradiation, but irradiation is best reserved for cases where that modality is employed for the primary tumor. Elective neck dissection provides important information for prognostic purposes and therapeutic decisions, by establishing the presence, number, location and nature of occult lymph node metastases. The selective lateral neck dissection (levels II, III and IV), unilateral or bilateral, is the procedure of choice for elective treatment. Paratracheal nodes (level VI) should be dissected in cases of advanced glottic and subglottic cancer. Complete radical or functional neck dissections are excessive in extent, as levels I and V are almost never involved. Sentinel lymph node biopsy may fail to detect tumor on frozen section examination or may not reveal 'skip' metastases. The clinically involved neck is usually treated by complete radical or functional neck dissection of levels I through V. Selective neck dissection has been employed successfully in selected cases, particularly for N1 or occasionally N2 nodal involvement. The selective neck dissection can be extended to include structures at risk. More advanced disease has been treated in this manner often in association with adjuvant chemotherapy and/or irradiation. While the benefit of adjuvant treatment is difficult to assess, it appears most useful in cases with extranodal spread of disease, a factor associated with the worst prognosis.