• The goal of laryngeal cancer surgery is to remove all cancer while keeping as much of the larynx as possible. Your care plan may include:
• Cordectomy: This surgery removes part or all of the vocal cords. Your ability to speak after surgery depends on how much of the vocal cords are removed.
• Supraglottic laryngectomy: Surgery to remove the supraglottis, the part of the larynx above the vocal cords. You may still be able to speak normally after this surgery.
• Partial laryngectomy: Surgery to remove part of the larynx. A partial laryngectomy also preserves the voice.
• Total laryngectomy: Surgery to remove the entire larynx. During this operation, doctors insert a stoma (hole in the front of the neck) to allow breathing. You will not be able to speak normally after this procedure.
• Transoral robotic surgery (TORS): Minimally invasive surgery using a robot to help surgeons see and remove cancerous tumors. This option can help preserve healthy tissue and reduce the impact on breathing, swallowing, and speaking.
• Thyroidectomy: If the laryngeal cancer spread to the thyroid gland, your surgeon may remove it with this surgery.
• Laser surgery: A surgical procedure that uses a laser beam (a narrow beam of intense light) as a knife to make bloodless cuts in tissue or remove a tumor.

Your treatment plan may include drugs that you take by mouth, injection, or infusion. Depending on your situation, your providers may use these treatments alone or with other therapies.

Our cancer doctors use a wide range of cancer medications, including: 

• Chemotherapy: A group of medications that slows or stops the growth of cancer cells in the body. It may also be used before surgery to shrink tumors or after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells. 
• Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy medications prompt your body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.  
• Targeted therapy: This therapy mimics naturally occurring substances in the body to interfere with the growth or health of cancer cells.

Chemoradiation is a combination of chemotherapy medications and radiation treatments. Chemotherapy drugs can make cancer cells more sensitive to radiation. Taking these medications while receiving radiation can make radiation treatments more effective. 

Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to destroy or shrink cancer cells.  Our radiation oncologists target radiation beams directly at tumors, providing powerful treatment while avoiding damage to healthy tissue nearby.

Radiation oncologists deliver external radiation (external beam therapy) using machines outside the body. Radiation does not cause pain and does not make you radioactive.

Types of external radiation therapy for laryngeal cancer include:

• 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT): This technology uses 3D pictures to help doctors target the tumor. Your radiation oncologist can aim radiation beams from different angles to match the tumor’s shape.
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): This treatment is similar to 3D-CRT and allows doctors to adjust the amount of radiation from each beam.
• Stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR): This form of radiation delivers intense doses of radiation in several days. It’s also known as stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).