Objectives/hypothesis: Laryngeal chondrosarcoma (LC) is a rare entity, reportedly comprising less than 1% of all laryngeal tumors. Consequently, the incidence and survival of patients with this slow-growing tumor has been difficult to study. Our objective was to evaluate incidence, organized by patient demographics, as well as long-term survival trends of this malignancy using a population-based database.
Study design: Retrospective analysis of the United States National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry.
Methods: The SEER database was searched for patients diagnosed with LC between 1973 and 2010. Data analyzed included patient demographics, incidence, treatment modality, and survival.
Results: One-hundred and forty-three cases were identified, representing 0.2% of all laryngeal tumors. Median age at diagnosis was 61.7 years. Men and women constituted 76.2% and 23.8% of patients, respectively. Tumors were locally invasive with 37.7% T4 disease and infrequent regional and distant metastases. The 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year disease-specific survival for LC was 96.5%, 88.6%, and 84.8%, respectively, compared to 88.3%, 68.2%, and 59.3%, respectively for patients with all other laryngeal tumors (P values < 0.01). Relative survival was 94.9% at 1 year, 88.5% at 5 years, and 88.4% at 10 years.
Conclusions: This analysis represents the largest LC study sample to date, allowing for evaluation of incidence and long-term survival. LC occurs infrequently, is locally invasive, but only rarely metastasizes. Prognosis for LC is significantly better than for other laryngeal malignancies.
Keywords: Laryngeal chondrosarcoma; SEER; chondrosarcoma of the larynx; demographic; disease-specific survival; incidence; laryngeal tumors; malignancy.
© 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.