Local control of T1 vocal cord cancer with radiation therapy: the importance of tumor character vs. treatment parameters.
Ninety-one patients with T1 vocal cord carcinoma received primary irradiation treatment. The 5- and 10-year determinate disease-free survival was 80%; the 5- and 10-year determinate survival including surgical salvage was 92%. Tumors involving more than one-half of a vocal cord or involving the anterior commissure or exhibiting an exophytic growth pattern had numerically, but not statistically, higher local failure rates than tumors without these characteristics. Precise radiation treatment technique appears more important for local control (LC) than tumor character. The crucial treatment factors for high LC with few radiation complications are reproducible daily patient positioning, use of contour-compensating devices (wedges), field size of 5 X 5 cm, and a radiation prescription with a time-dose fractionation value of 101 to 106.
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D007825:Laryngectomy; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014827:Vocal Cords