Prognostic factors and survival of laryngeal cancer patients from Turin, Italy. A population-based study.

Little information is available on the role of risk factors for cancer of the larynx in survival. This study analyzed survival through the end of 1994 for 355 cases of laryngeal cancer diagnosed among residents of Turin, Italy, during 1979-1982. Relative survival at 5 years was 75% in women and 67% in men. The role of clinical and etiologic factors was analyzed in detail among 222 male cases. The role of nodal involvement as a strong predictor of poor survival was confirmed. Patients of low socioeconomic status experienced poorer survival than other patients, as did heavy smokers. Alcohol drinking and diet did not seem to strongly influence survival. Survival in this series of laryngeal cancer cases closely parallels that observed in other case series from Europe. While the results regarding socioeconomic status, tobacco smoking, and alcohol drinking parallel those of the few previous studies available, this investigation did not confirm a role for diet in the survival of laryngeal cancer patients, a finding that was recently seen in another study from northern Italy.