Glottic cancer in patients without complaints of hoarseness.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the clinical characteristics of patients with glottic cancer without hoarseness. METHODS: This retrospective clinical study investigated 371 patients with glottic cancer. RESULTS: Thirty-two of the 371 patients (8.6%) with glottic cancer first presented to hospitals with complaints other than hoarseness. Although proportions of stage I and T1 disease were significantly higher among patients without hoarseness than among those with hoarseness (p = .0036 and p = .0004, respectively), survival curves showed no significant differences between groups (p = .1334). CONCLUSION: Patients with glottic cancer without complaints of hoarseness were diagnosed at an earlier stage than those with hoarseness. Accumulation of more cases may lead to better survival of patients with glottic cancer without hoarseness compared to those with hoarseness. Checking the larynx of patients without hoarseness or encouraging internists to check the larynx when performing gastroscopic or respiratory examinations may lead to improvement of glottic cancer prognosis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E316-E320, 2016.