CLINICODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND STAGE DISTRIBUTION OF LARYNGEAL CARCINOMA: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY FROM A NORTH INDIAN TEACHING HOSPITAL
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Keywords
Laryngeal carcinoma; clinicodemography; stage distribution; glottic; supraglottic; North India; Greater Noida
Abstract
Background: Laryngeal carcinoma is among the most common head and neck malignancies in the Indian subcontinent, with tobacco and alcohol use as principal aetiological determinants. The disease predominantly afflicts economically productive males in their fifth and sixth decades. Subsite-specific differences in clinical presentation and stage at diagnosis have direct implications for treatment selection and survival outcomes. Regional data from teaching hospitals in North India, including those serving the National Capital Region (NCR), remain underreported in indexed literature.
Objectives: To characterise the clinicodemographic profile of patients presenting with laryngeal carcinoma at Sharda University Hospital, Greater Noida, and to document stage distribution across laryngeal subsites.
Methodology: A descriptive, hospital-based observational study was conducted over eight months (January–August 2012) in the ENT department. Ninety-five histopathologically confirmed cases of laryngeal carcinoma satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled through purposive sampling. Clinical evaluation included flexible fibre-optic laryngoscopy and rigid endoscopy; staging was performed per AJCC sixth edition criteria [20]. Data were analysed using SPSS version 17.0 and Microsoft Excel 2010.
Results: The study cohort comprised 87 males (91.6%) and 8 females (8.4%), with a mean age of 54.3 ± 8.7 years. Glottic carcinoma was the most frequent subsite (48.4%), followed by supraglottic (37.9%). A statistically significant difference in stage at presentation was identified between glottic and supraglottic subsites (χ² = 28.6, p < 0.001): glottic tumours were predominantly diagnosed at early stages (Stage I/II: 71.7%), whereas supraglottic tumours clustered at advanced stages (Stage III/IV: 69.4%). Tobacco smoking (78.9%) and combined tobacco-alcohol use (44.2%) were the leading risk factors. Hoarseness was the predominant presenting symptom (93.7%).
Conclusion: The predominance of male patients, high tobacco-alcohol exposure, and subsite-specific stage differences at Sharda University Hospital mirror North Indian and national trends. Early presentation of glottic tumours underscores the prognostic advantage of hoarseness as a sentinel symptom, while the late-stage clustering of supraglottic carcinomas signals urgent need for public health awareness programmes targeting the NCR–Western UP corridor.
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Dr. Mahida Bipinkumar Amarabhai
Associate Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, SMSR, Sharda University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Dr. Patel Manish Bhimjibhai
Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Dr. Patel Hemina Manish
Assistant Professor, Department of Radio-Diagnosis, M M Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India
