Cancers du larynx

Laryngeal cancers are frequent in Latin Europe; they represent 3% of cancers in males. The most important epidemiological factor is tobacco consumption, often associated with alcohol abuse. Some occupational exposures seem also to be possible causes of laryngeal carcinogenesis. Despite early functional symptoms, too many cases are diagnosed at a rather advanced stage. Loco-regional extension assessment is based on a thorough endoscopic evaluation as well as on a high quality serial imaging. Numerous surgical procedures, either partial or total, allow adapting the surgical resection to each type of local extension. Endoscopic laser surgery has an undisputable place in the treatment of early diseases. External beam radiation therapy is a real alternative for early and exophytic lesions. Irradiation plays an important role in the treatment of more advanced tumours since the development of new radiotherapy programs and, in particular, when combined with chemotherapy for larynx preservation. The overall prognosis is the best within tumours of the upper aero-digestive tract. All in all more than half the patients are alive at 5 years of disease onset.