Pathological validation of supracricoid partial laryngectomy in laryngeal cancer

Objectives: To validate pathologically whether supracricoid partial laryngectomy is an oncologically sound procedure in cases with invasion of the thyroid cartilage, paraglottic space, pre‐epiglottic space, anterior commissure, or subglottis. Design: A retrospective review of case notes was performed. Setting: Patients treated at a single institute in the Republic of Korea. Participants: Sixty‐three patients who underwent supracricoid partial laryngectomy for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma between June 1994 and May 2005 who were followed for at least 2 years. Main outcome measures: Local control and overall survival rates. Pathological invasion of the thyroid cartilage, anterior commissure, pre‐epiglottic space, paraglottic space, or subglottis was also investigated as a cause of recurrence. Prognostic factors for local control and survival were evaluated with univariate and multivariate models. Results: Invasion of the anterior commissure, paraglottic space, thyroid cartilage, pre‐epiglottic space, or subglottis had no significant impact on the recurrence or overall survival rates. The presence of a positive resection margin was significantly associated with recurrence in the univariate and multivariate analyses (P = 0.026, 0.028, respectively). When considering the prognostic factors influencing survival, the univariate analysis showed that N stage, a positive resection margin and recurrence had significant influences on the overall survival rate (P = 0.010, 0.0004 and 0.000 respectively). In the multivariate analysis, only recurrence affected the survival rate (P = 0.002). Conclusion: Supracricoid partial laryngectomy can be used with oncological safety in selected cases of laryngeal cancer with invasion of the anterior commissure, thyroid cartilage, pre‐epiglottic space, paraglottic space, or subglottis.