Laryngeal cancer in Lower Silesia: descriptive analysis of 501 cases.

This paper presents a descriptive analysis of 501 cases of laryngeal cancer. The patients were classified according to their age, sex, primary tumour localisation and stage. There were 448 males and 53 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 8.5:1. The peak incidence of cancer was detected in the 6th and 7th decades of age. The most common primary tumour localisation was the glottis. Three-hundred-and-forty patients presented at advanced tumour stages (T3/T4). The proportion of patients presenting matastatic neck nodes was 29.3% and the incidence of metastatic lymph nodes increased with increasing T stage. Histopathological analysis revealed that 98% of tumours were squamous cell carcinomas. There were 125 well-differentiated, 235 moderately differentiated and 133 poorly differentiated carcinomas. Among other tumours, there was 1 adenoid squamous cell carcinoma, 1 giant cell carcinoma, 1 adenoma pleomorphicum, 1 adenoid cystic carcinoma (cylindroma), 1 haemangiopericytoma, 1 verrucous cell carcinoma, 1 lymphoepithelioma and 1 granular cell tumour.