Clinical stage of laryngeal carcinoma and lost time at the moment of diagnosis with 15-year-long interval. Are there any changes?

Abstract

© 2019 Zerbinis Publications. All rights reserved. Purpose: Despite the fact that laryngeal cancer causes symptoms early, the patients often present with advanced disease. The aim of this paper was to determine how much time had been lost from the beginning of the symptoms to establishing the diagnosis, and what was the clinical stage of the laryngeal cancer at the time of diagnosis in two examination years (2001 and 2016). Methods: The research involved 108 patients of both genders, 54 during each examination year, with whom the diagnosis of laryngeal carcinoma was established. The charts of the patients were reviewed, and the data were analyzed and compared. Results: The median lost time from the time when the symptoms started to the time of diagnosis was 8.22 months during 2001 versus 8.77 months during 2016, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.774). Early clinical T stage of the disease in 2001 was present in 57.4% of the cases and 70.4% in 2016, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.161). Early clinical TNM stage in 2001 was in 48.1%, and 64.8% in 2016, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.081). Tracheotomy at the time of establishing the diagnosis was necessary in statistically significantly greater number of patients in 2001 compared to 2016 (59.3% versus 31.5%;p=0.004). Conclusion: The diagnosis of laryngeal carcinoma is established late, with a long lost time. Favourable is the statistically significant decrease in the number of patients who require tracheotomy at the time of establishing the diagnosis with a 15-year-long interval.