Long-term efficacy of voice therapy in patients with voice problems after treatment of early glottic cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present pilot study is to investigate whether the beneficial short-term effects of voice therapy in patients with voice problems after treatment of early glottic cancer as reported in our earlier study remain present on the long term.

STUDY DESIGN: In this prospective study, 12 patients, selected based on a screening questionnaire about voice problems and randomly assigned for treatment with voice therapy (vs no treatment), were evaluated with a mean of 13 months after finishing voice therapy to evaluate the long-term voice effects.

METHODS: Voice assessment consisted of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and acoustic analyses (percent jitter, percent shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio).

RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed that the beneficial short-term effect on the mean VHI, percent jitter, and shimmer remained stable after more than a year of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides initial evidence that the beneficial effect of voice therapy is not just a short-lived voice improvement but may result in a better voice for a period of at least 1 year. Future long-term randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm our findings.