Outcomes of laryngectomy in elderly patients with laryngeal carcinoma.

Laryngeal carcinoma is a common tumor of the head and neck region. This study aimed to examine the outcomes of laryngectomy in elderly patients with laryngeal carcinoma. One-hundred twenty-two patients (male, 117; female, 5) aged 60 years or older (range, 60-94 years) who underwent laryngectomy between 1996 and 2010 were included. All patients were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, and 95 patients (77.9%) had additional concurrent diseases. Tumors were staged according to the TNM categories of the American Joint Committee on Cancer 2002 criteria; there were 16 stage-I, 24 stage-II, 52 stage-III, and 30 stage-IV cases. With regard to treatment modalities, 10 patients underwent transoral laser laryngectomy, 25 underwent partial laryngectomy, and 87 underwent total laryngectomy. When necessary, neck dissection was performed according to the Dalian criteria set in 2004 (a Chinese standard). Of the 122 cases, there were 114 cases of grade I (93.4%), 5 cases of grade II, and 3 cases of grade III (pharyngeal fistula in 2 cases recovered after 2 weeks of care) wound healing. No significant differences were observed in the occurrence or severity of comorbidities. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year actuarial survival rates were 97.5% (119/122), 84.4% (92/109), and 68.4% (67/98), respectively. Age alone should not be used to determine treatment options for elderly patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Presuming that careful pre-treatment evaluations are performed, laryngectomy is a key method for elderly patients with laryngeal carcinoma.