Treatment of Early Glottic Carcinoma with Transoral Endoscopic Laser Surgery

Laryngeal carcinoma is one of the most common tumors of the head and neck, just after skin cancer. Alongside open surgery, transoral endoscopic laser surgery (TOLS) has become widespread as a treatment method. Our aim was to assess the efficacy of transoral laser cordectomy in a group of patients with early glottic carcinoma. We retrospectively analyzed data on 131 patients who underwent TOLS in the 2017-2021 period. We divided patients into groups according to tumor stage and type of cordectomy performed, and compared outcomes between the groups. Our results revealed a higher number of patients in the group with Tis and T1a than in those with T1b and T2 who underwent type III cordectomy, and also a higher number of those for whom outpatient follow-ups were sufficient after surgery in the same group. We did not observe significant difference in outcomes according to cordectomy type except for type V (a-d), where a higher number of patients had to undergo radiotherapy. This study underlines the importance of careful patient selection for TOLS, as well as the need for close cooperation with pathology and radiology specialists to ensure optimal approach and extent of surgery for each individual patient. It also displayed TOLS as a sound therapeutic option for early stages of glottic carcinoma but also indicated the need for similar studies in a larger number of patients to elucidate the effectiveness in certain glottis areas.