Laryngeal carcinoma in nonsmoking patients.
OBJECTIVE
Smoking is a known risk factor for laryngeal carcinoma. We sought to describe the clinicopathologic characteristics and outcomes of nonsmoking patients with laryngeal carcinoma.


METHODS
Of 1,443 patients treated for laryngeal carcinoma between 1960 and 2006, 55 (3.8%) were nonsmokers: 40 (73%) had never smoked and 15 (27%) had stopped smoking 12 years or more before diagnosis. Patient characteristics and outcomes were reviewed.


RESULTS
The study group consisted of 87% men; the mean age at diagnosis was 67 years. All lesions but one were located in the glottis. The 5-year survival rate for the whole group was 85%. Most tumors were detected early. Of 38 patients (69%) with stage T1 disease, there was no significant difference in prognostic features between those who had never smoked and those who had smoked in the past.


CONCLUSIONS
Fewer than 5% of patients with laryngeal carcinoma were nonsmokers. Like smokers, this subgroup was characterized by a male predominance and an approximate age at diagnosis in the seventh decade. Unlike smokers, nonsmokers show a greater predilection for glottic rather than supraglottic disease. There was no difference in prognosis between smokers and nonsmokers, regardless of whether they had smoked in the past.
Hamzany
Yaniv
Y
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tiqwa, Israel.
Hadar
Tuvia
T
Feinmesser
Raphael
R
Guttman
Dan
D
Shvero
Jacob
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D005260:Female; D005931:Glottis / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*