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Objectives: To investigate the prognostic significance of positive margin and disease course in partial laryngectomy for advanced laryngeal carcinoma and radiation failure., Design: Retrospective case control study., Setting: A major tertiary referral centre., Participants: Patients who underwent partial laryngectomy for advanced laryngeal carcinoma or for radiation failure with at least 2 years of follow-up., Main Outcome Measures: Margin status versus primary treatment and salvage treatment versus disease-free survival and overall survival., Results: Twenty nine patients with sufficient follow-up data were found. Twelve patients had histological positive margin. Five of the 12 patients with a histological positive margin failed surgery as did four patients with clear margins. A positive margin had no effect on disease-free survival (P = 0.287) but was associated with poorer overall survival (P = 0.051). Of 11 patients treated primarily with surgery, recurrence was documented in one of eight with a positive margin and none of three with clear margins. Of 18 patients who underwent surgery secondary to radiation failure, recurrence was documented in all four with a positive margin and 4 of 14 with negative margins. Extended frontolateral resection, performed only in radiation failures, was associated with worse disease-free survival., Conclusions: Non-irradiated patients with involvement of a single margin after partial laryngectomy may be spared total laryngectomy if adjuvant radiation is administered. Patients who fail radiation should undergo radical partial laryngectomy, with conversion to total laryngectomy in those with a positive margin., (© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Objectives: The management of advanced laryngeal cancer has evolved in the last century, from total laryngectomy to chemoradiation. The aim of this study was to examine our experience with supracricoid partial laryngectomy as a possible solution for patients with advanced laryngeal tumours, with a focus on the oncological safety of the procedure and the functionality of the preserved larynges., Study Design: We reviewed the medical records of patients with laryngeal cancer who had undergone primary or salvage supracricoid partial laryngectomy at our department between 1998 and 2004., Results: Twenty-three patients treated with supracricoid partial laryngectomy for endolaryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were identified. Median follow-up time was 35 months. Twelve patients had advanced laryngeal tumours. Eight patients were radiation failures. These factors were not associated with increased local recurrence or with decreased survival., Conclusion: Supracricoid partial laryngectomy appears to be a feasible option for the treatment of laryngeal tumours, even in the advanced stage or after failure of radiation therapy.