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Objective and subjective changes in voice quality after radiotherapy for early (T1 or T2, N0) laryngeal cancer: A pilot prospective cohort study
Author(s) -
Adams Gerard,
Burnett Robyn,
Mills Ellen,
Penniment Michael
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.22969
Subject(s) - medicine , prospective cohort study , radiation therapy , cohort , cancer , oncology , physical therapy
Background Limited data exist on long‐term voice quality after treatment for early laryngeal cancer. We report on the feasibility of establishing a dedicated service to assess changes after radiotherapy. Methods From June 1999 to December 2005, all patients referred for radical radiotherapy for early laryngeal cancers were invited to join a prospective cohort study. Subjective and objective voice quality tests were performed before and after treatment and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after treatment. Results Twenty‐seven patients were screened for the study. Sufficient data were available for 15 (56%) patients. Both subjective and objective assessments improved significantly. Conclusions This pilot study shows that it is possible to collect prospective voice quality data. There are both subjective and objective improvements in voice that persist to at least 2 years after radiotherapy. We propose the use of the methods described here to study voice outcomes in a lager cohort of patients treated with both surgery and radiotherapy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2013