Clinical Research Directory

VoiceS: Voice Quality After Transoral CO2-Laser Surgery Versus Single Vocal Cord Irradiation for Larynx Cancer

Laser surgery and radiotherapy are well-established standards of care for unilateral stage 0 \& I carcinoma in situ (Cais) and squamous cell carcinoma of glottic larynx (SCCGL). Based on meta-analyses, functional and oncological outcome after both treatment modalities are comparable1-5. However, no properly conducted randomized trials comparing these treatments exist. The only such trial with the endpoint of voice quality had to be prematurely closed due to low accrual6. The traditional radiotherapy involves the treatment of the whole larynx. Recently, a new radiotherapy technique was introduced by a team of researchers from Netherlands, where the treated target volume consists of involved vocal cord and therefore 8 to 10-fold smaller than the target volumes used for traditional whole larynx irradiation. The treatment is reduced to 16 fractions which corresponds to 3 weeks and a day7-12. The results of a prospective cohort (n=30) with single vocal cord irradiation (SVCI) were compared with the results of a historical prospective cohort previously treated with whole larynx radiotherapy (n=131) in the same institute. The median follow-up was 30 months. The voice handicap index (VHI) at all time points beginning from the 6th week after SVCI was significantly superior to the same time points with conventional radiotherapy. Moreover, a comparable local control with SVCI (100%) vs. conventional radiotherapy (92%) was reported at two years, p=0.2412. Based on this information, the investigators' main aim is to compare SVCI to Transoral CO2-Laser Microsurgical Cordectomy (TLM) with the main focus of patient-reported voice quality.

Vocal-cord vs. Complete Laryngeal Radiotherapy for Early Glottic Cancer

This is a multicentrer, randomized Bayesian Phase II trial for patients with early stage (T1N0) glottic squamous cell carcinoma treated with radical radiotherapy. The primary objective is to assess the non-inferiority of local control achieved with vocal-cord only radiotherapy (VC-RT) compared to complete larynx radiotherapy (CL-RT) in T1N0 glottic laryngeal squamous cell cancer, measured at 2-years after treatment. Secondary outcomes include overall survival, as well as voice impairment, dysphagia and quality of life, measured respectively by the voice handicap index -10 (VHI-10), the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) and the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory- Head and Neck module (MDASI-HN). Patients will be randomized in a 1:3 ratio to CL-RT (39 patients) and VC-RT (116 patients) arms. There will be stratification by tumor stage (T1a/T1b) and by institution. An interim analysis is planned after the first 55 patients enrolled on the experimental arm have a 6-month follow-up.