Combined modality treatment including local hyperthermia in patients with locally-advanced laryngeal and laryngopharyngeal cancer

The paper presents two-year results of combined modality treatment of patients with stage III-IV (T3N0-1M0) locally advanced laryngeal and laryngopharyngeal cancer. In the first phase of the treatment, all 24 patients included into the study, received preoperative RT with local hyperthermia. Preventive tracheostoma was not an obstacle for the treatment. Patients who achieved partial response or stable disease underwent surgery. In case of complete tumor regression (n=5), radiotherapy was continued up to the total dose of 66 Gy. Histological examination of surgical specimens revealed complete pathological response in all patients who received combined modality treatment. Regional metastases were revealed in 2 patients, and they subsequently underwent lymph node dissection. The overall 2-year survival rate was 100 % and 2-year metastasis-free survival was 91.7 %.