A 52-year-old man presents with a T1N0M0 glottic carcinoma confined to the right true vocal cord with normal mobility. He is treated with definitive radiotherapy (66 Gy in 33 fractions). What is the expected 5-year local control rate with this treatment?

• A 40-50%
• B 60-70%
• C 30-40%
• D 85-95% ✓

Explanation

Early glottic cancer (T1N0) treated with definitive radiotherapy achieves excellent local control rates of 85-95%. The glottis has a relatively sparse lymphatic network, and T1 lesions are small and confined. Radiotherapy is preferred over surgery for T1 glottic cancer because it offers comparable oncologic outcomes with better voice preservation. T2 lesions have slightly lower control rates (75-85%). T3 and T4 lesions have poorer outcomes with radiotherapy alone and often require surgery. The high control rate for T1 disease makes radiotherapy the standard of care.

Reference: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 21st ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.