Utility approach to decision-making in extended T1 and limited T2 glottic carcinoma

ABSTRACT

Background

It is still undecided if endoscopic laser surgery or radiotherapy is the preferable treatment in extended T1 and limited T2 glottic tumors. Health utilities assessed from patients can aid in decision-making.

Methods

Patients treated for extended T1 or limited T2 glottic carcinoma by laser surgery (n = 12) or radiotherapy (n = 14) assigned health utilities using a visual analog scale (VAS), time tradeoff (TTO) technique and scored their voice handicap using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI).

Results

VAS and TTO scores were slightly lower for the laser group compared to the radiotherapy group, however, not significantly so. The VHI showed a correlation with the VAS score, which was very low in both groups and can be considered (near) normal.

Conclusion

Patients show no clear preference for the outcomes of laser surgery or radiotherapy from a quality of life (QOL) or voice handicap point of view. These data can now be incorporated into decision-making models. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2017

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