Addition of Chemotherapy Is Associated With Decreased Survival in Early-Stage (T1-2N0M0) Glottic Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated With Definitive Radiotherapy

PurposeThe role of chemoradiation (CRT) in treating patients with early-stage glottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), especially for T2N0M0 glottic SCC with impaired vocal cord mobility, remains unexplored. We sought to evaluate the impact of CRT on survival in early-stage glottic SCC by using the SEER database.Patients and MethodsWe included patients with localized (T1-4N0M0) glottic SCC (N = 4,743) diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 and treated with definitive radiotherapy (RT) alone, CRT, or laryngectomy alone in the SEER database. Disease-specific mortality (DSM) was evaluated via multivariable regression using a competing risk model that accounts for other-cause mortality as a competing risk event for DSM. One-to-one propensity score matching between CRT and RT cohorts was also performed to facilitate comparison of cumulative DSM and other-cause mortality incidences stratified by T stage.ResultsAfter stratification by T stage, CRT was associated with increased DSM in T1-2N0M0 glottic SCC (adjusted hazard...