Long-term quality of life after transoral laser microsurgery for laryngeal carcinoma

Background and ObjectivesPrevious studies showed good short-term Quality of life (QOL) after Transoral Laser Microsurgery (TLM) for laryngeal cancer. Here, we aimed to evaluate QOL after TLM in the long-term. MethodsProspective longitudinal study. Sixty-two consecutive disease-free patients were evaluated using UW-QOL v4 and SF-12 questionnaires, 1 and 5 years after TLM. Changes over time were assessed according to age, location, and tumor size. Long-term VHI-10 was also evaluated. ResultsThe mean follow-up time was 5.412.02 years. No differences in the global UW-QOL score were observed between 1 and 5 years after TLM (1135.00 vs. 1127.20; P=0.4). Activity worsened slightly in the long-term (93.03 vs. 87.70; P=0.02). Forty-two and 58% of the patients reported that their health 1 and 5 years after treatment was much better than prior to diagnosis. Initially, 3.3% considered their health much worse, which was reduced to 1.7% at 5 years. SF-12 scores remained unchanged for both physical and mental aspects (P>0.05). The VHI-10 was 3.81 +/- 5.7 for supraglottic and 7.2 +/- 9.6 for glottic tumors. ConclusionPatients treated with TLM present a very good long-term QOL. Only activity deteriorates over time, while voice and swallowing remain satisfactory in the majority of patients. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:789-795. (c) 2016 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.