Hyperplastic epithelial lesions of the vocal folds: combined use of exfoliative cytology and laryngostroboscopy in differential diagnosis

Value of high-speed videoendoscopy as an auxiliary tool in differentiation of benign and malignant unilateral vocal lesions

PURPOSE

The study aimed to assess the relevance of objective vibratory parameters derived from high-speed videolaryngoscopy (HSV) as a supporting tool, to assist clinicians in establishing the initial diagnosis of benign and malignant glottal organic lesions.

METHODS

The HSV examinations were conducted in 175 subjects: 50 normophonic, 85 subjects with benign vocal fold lesions, and 40 with early glottic cancer; organic lesions were confirmed by histopathologic examination. The parameters, derived from HSV kymography: amplitude, symmetry, and glottal dynamic characteristics, were compared statistically between the groups with the following ROC analysis.

RESULTS

Among 14 calculated parameters, 10 differed significantly between the groups. Four of them, the average resultant amplitude of the involved vocal fold (AmpInvolvedAvg), average amplitude asymmetry for the whole glottis and its middle third part (AmplAsymAvg; AmplAsymAvg_2/3), and absolute average phase difference (AbsPhaseDiffAvg), showed significant differences between benign and malignant lesions. Amplitude values were decreasing, while asymmetry and phase difference values were increasing with the risk of malignancy. In ROC analysis, the highest AUC was observed for AmpAsymAvg (0.719; p < 0.0001), and next in order was AmpInvolvedAvg (0.70; p = 0.0002).

CONCLUSION

The golden standard in the diagnosis of organic lesions of glottis remains clinical examination with videolaryngoscopy, confirmed by histopathological examination. Our results showed that measurements of amplitude, asymmetry, and phase of vibrations in malignant vocal fold masses deteriorate significantly in comparison to benign vocal lesions. High-speed videolaryngoscopy could aid their preliminary differentiation noninvasively before histopathological examination; however, further research on larger groups is needed.

Real-time detection of laryngopharyngeal cancer using an artificial intelligence-assisted system with multimodal data

BACKGROUND

Laryngopharyngeal cancer (LPC) includes laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer, whose early diagnosis can significantly improve the prognosis and quality of life of patients. Pathological biopsy of suspicious cancerous tissue under the guidance of laryngoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing LPC. However, this subjective examination largely depends on the skills and experience of laryngologists, which increases the possibility of missed diagnoses and repeated unnecessary biopsies. We aimed to develop and validate a deep convolutional neural network-based Laryngopharyngeal Artificial Intelligence Diagnostic System (LPAIDS) for real-time automatically identifying LPC in both laryngoscopy white-light imaging (WLI) and narrow-band imaging (NBI) images to improve the diagnostic accuracy of LPC by reducing diagnostic variation among on-expert laryngologists.

METHODS

All 31,543 laryngoscopic images from 2382 patients were categorised into training, verification, and test sets to develop, validate, and internal test LPAIDS. Another 25,063 images from five other hospitals were used as external tests. Overall, 551 videos were used to evaluate the real-time performance of the system, and 200 randomly selected videos were used to compare the diagnostic performance of the LPAIDS with that of laryngologists. Two deep-learning models using either WLI (model W) or NBI (model N) images were constructed to compare with LPAIDS.

RESULTS

LPAIDS had a higher diagnostic performance than models W and N, with accuracies of 0·956 and 0·949 in the internal image and video tests, respectively. The robustness and stability of LPAIDS were validated in external sets with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0·965-0·987. In the laryngologist-machine competition, LPAIDS achieved an accuracy of 0·940, which was comparable to expert laryngologists and outperformed other laryngologists with varying qualifications.

CONCLUSIONS

LPAIDS provided high accuracy and stability in detecting LPC in real-time, which showed great potential for using LPAIDS to improve the diagnostic accuracy of LPC by reducing diagnostic variation among on-expert laryngologists.

Surgical Treatment of Early Glottic Cancer

The incidence of all head and neck malignancies is rising worldwide, with carcinoma of the larynx constituting approximately 1% of all cancers. Early glottic cancer responds quite favorably to surgical intervention due to its early presentation, coupled with the low rate of regional and distant metastases. This article focuses on various approaches to the surgical treatment of early glottic cancer. Details include the clinical and radiological evaluation of laryngeal cancer, the goals of treatment, current surgical options for early disease, approach to surgical resection margins and management of nodal disease, and complications associated with each treatment modality.

Narrative Review of Classification Systems Describing Laryngeal Vascularity Using Advanced Endoscopic Imaging

Endoscopic methods are critical in the early diagnosis of mucosal lesions of the head and neck. In recent years, new examination methods and classification systems have been developed and introduced into clinical practice. All of these new techniques target the notion of optical biopsy, which tries to assess the nature of the lesion before histology examination. Many methods suffer from interpretation issues due to subjective interpretation of the findings. Therefore, multiple classification systems have been developed to assist the proper interpretation of mucosal findings and reduce the error rate. They provide various perspectives on the assessment and interpretation of mucosa changes. This article provides a comprehensive and critical view of the available classification systems as well as their advantages and disadvantages.

Correlation between brush cytology results and histopathological examination in diagnostic evaluation of precancerous conditions and laryngeal cancer: A prospective study

Introduction

The aim of the paper was to demonstrate that brush cytology can be useful in diagnostic evaluation of precancerous states and laryngeal cancer.

Materials and Methods

Ninety-two patients were analyzed. The control group included patients with benign laryngeal lesions, while the study group was composed of patients in whom a precancerous condition or laryngeal cancer was suspected. Material for histopathological and cytological examination was collected during a laryngeal microsurgery. The authors analyzed the consistency of the results of cytological and histopathological examination in the diagnostic evaluation of precancerous conditions and laryngeal cancer.

Results

Comparing diagnoses based on cytological examination with the results of histopathological examinations, the authors observed that there was a strong and statistically significant (p<0.001) correlation between the results. The accuracy of brush cytology in the conducted study indicates that the sensitivity and specificity of the test reaches 90.09% and 93.5% with 4 false negative and 3 false positive results. Positive prediction reached 93% and negative prediction reached 91.5%.

Conclusions

Brush cytology of the larynx may be useful in screening and as an auxiliary test in diagnostic evaluation of precancerous conditions and laryngeal cancer.

The combination of brush cytology with the results of histopathological examination in laryngeal cancer diagnosis

Recently, the incidence rate of head and neck cancer (HNC) has been increasing significantly. It is estimated that there are over 550,000 new cases per year, of which over 130,000 are laryngeal cancers. It is assumed that in more than 60% of patients the disease is diagnosed late, at stages III–IV, which is associated with unfavorable prognoses: the average survival ranges from 15% to 45%. The mainstay of successful tumor therapy is the early detection of neoplastic tissue. The laryngological examination with the use of traditional instruments should be expanded with an endoscopic examination of the larynx using optics in the outpatient clinics. This procedure is sufficient to select patients who need a direct laryngoscopy with a surgical biopsy, usually under general anesthesia in operating room conditions. However, it may bear potential complications. In 1941, Papanicolaou and Traut showed that brush cytology could be useful in detecting precancerous conditions and cervical cancers. For decades, research on the usefulness of brush cytology in diagnosing precancerous conditions and laryngeal cancers has been conducted. This paper aims to enable the reader to understand the issues related to laryngeal cancer and present the results of the previous use of brush cytology in the diagnostic process.

Differences in the diagnostic value between fiberoptic and high definition laryngoscopy for the characterisation of pharyngeal and laryngeal lesions: A multi-observer paired analysis of videos

OBJECTIVES

High definition laryngoscopy (HDL) could lead to better interpretation of the pharyngeal and laryngeal mucosa than regularly used fiberoptic laryngoscopy (FOL). The primary aim of this study is to quantify the diagnostic advantage of HDL over FOL in detecting mucosal anomalies in general, in differentiating malignant from benign lesions and in predicting specific histological entities. The secondary aim is to analyse image quality of both laryngoscopes.

DESIGN

Retrospective paired analysis with multiple observers evaluating endoscopic videos simulating daily clinical practice.

SETTING

A tertiary referral hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

In 36 patients, both FOL and HDL videos were obtained. Six observers were provided with additional clinical information, and 36 FOL and HDL videos were evaluated in a randomised order.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of observers using both flexible laryngoscopes were calculated for detection of mucosal lesions in general and uncovering malignant lesions. Sensitivities were calculated for prediction of specific histological entities. Image quality (scale 1-10) was assessed for both flexible laryngoscopes.

RESULTS

HDL reached higher sensitivity compared to FOL for detection of mucosal abnormalities in general (96.0% vs 90.4%; P = .03), differentiating malignant from benign lesions (91.7% vs 79.8%; P = .03) and prediction of specific histological entities (59.7% vs 47.2%; P < .01). Image quality was judged better with HDL in comparison with FOL (mean: 8.4 vs 5.4, P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

HDL is superior to FOL in detecting mucosal anomalies in general, malignancies and specific histological entities. Image quality is considered as superior using HDL compared to FOL.

Laryngeal cytology: A cytological, histological, P16 and human papillomavirus study

BACKGROUND

Invasive diagnostic methods, such as punch biopsies, have a potential to produce undesirable side effects in the larynx, such as scarring and vocal dysfunction. This study is an attempt to assess the diagnostic potential of cytology to efficiently diagnose premalignant and malignant laryngeal lesions, while sparing patients the risk of complications of punch biopsies.

METHODS

Laryngeal smears, using endocervical-type brushes, and punch biopsies were procured from each patient. Smears were prepared and the brush was cut and put in Surepath preservative solution for cytological analysis and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing. A Real-TM Quant kit that detects 14 HPV types was used for genotyping. Immunohistochemical staining for p16 was performed on cytological and histological specimens.

RESULTS

Cytological diagnosis was correct in 84.6%, 100% and 100% of cases with a histological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinomas, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and benign lesions, respectively. However, cytological interpretation was correct only in 25% of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. HPV DNA test was positive in only one case, which was a laryngeal polyp. Testing for p16 was negative in all the cytological and histological material.

CONCLUSION

Laryngeal cytology is a useful diagnostic tool in establishing the diagnosis of high-grade squamous epithelial cell abnormalities. Recognition of low-grade lesions, however, is challenging. HPV genotyping and p16 staining do not seem to be helpful ancillary techniques in cytological material procured from the larynx.

The value of narrow band imaging combined with stroboscopy for the detection of applanate indiscernible early-stage vocal cord cancer

BACKGROUND

Narrow band imaging (NBI) and stroboscopy are non-invasive techniques to detect the malignant lesions of the vocal cord. This study was to assess the diagnostic value of combined endoscopic analysis in the applanate indiscernible early-stage vocal cord cancer.

METHODS

A total of 110 patients with 160 suspicious vocal cord malignant lesions were included in this retrospective study. Stroboscopy was immediately performed after NBI and white light endoscopy (WLE) were performed in all patients. Excisional biopsy was performed to examine histopathology examination.

RESULTS

We found that the diagnostic specificity and PPV were higher in the NBI and WLE combined with stroboscopy group than in the NBI and WLE group without stroboscopy (88.9% vs 72.5%, 88.4% vs 60.9%). However, the diagnostic sensitivity was not significantly different in those two groups (69.3% vs 67.7%).

CONCLUSION

NBI and WLE combined with stroboscopy is a promising method to detect early-stage vocal cord cancer with the advantage of clinical feasibility and diagnostic specificity.

Guidelines for the Surgical Management of Laryngeal Cancer: Korean Society of Thyroid-Head and Neck Surgery

Korean Society of Thyroid-Head and Neck Surgery appointed a Task Force to develop clinical practice guidelines for the surgical treatment of laryngeal cancer. This Task Force conducted a systematic search of the EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed databases to identify relevant articles, using search terms selected according to the key questions. Evidence-based recommendations were then created on the basis of these articles. An external expert review and Delphi questionnaire were applied to reach consensus regarding the recommendations. The resulting guidelines focus on the surgical treatment of laryngeal cancer with the assumption that surgery is the selected treatment modality after a multidisciplinary discussion in any context. These guidelines do not, therefore, address non-surgical treatment such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy. The committee developed 62 evidence-based recommendations in 32 categories intended to assist clinicians during management of patients with laryngeal cancer and patients with laryngeal cancer, and counselors and health policy-makers.

Systematic review of the diagnostic value of laryngeal stroboscopy in excluding early glottic carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Laryngeal stroboscopy is an important diagnostic tool in the work-up of patients with phoniatric complaints. The aim of this article was to evaluate the diagnostic value of laryngeal stroboscopy in excluding glottic carcinoma in patients with suspected glottic carcinoma.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library.

REVIEW METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library. Studies reporting original study data were included. Studies were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria and were consequently systematically assessed for their relevance and risk of bias. Studies with low relevance, high risk of bias or both were excluded from analysis. The prevalences, sensitivities, specificities and post-test probabilities of laryngeal stroboscopy for detecting glottic carcinoma were extracted or calculated with data supplied in the articles.

RESULTS

Seven studies, with high relevance and moderate risk of bias, were selected for data extraction. The baseline risk of glottic carcinoma was 25-49% in the included studies. Sensitivity ranged between 80% and 100% and specificity between 25% and 100%. Post-test probabilities of malignancy in case of an abnormal stroboscopy ranged between 35% and 100%. Post-test probabilities of malignancy in case of a normal stroboscopy ranged between 0% and 29%.

CONCLUSION

A normal laryngeal stroboscopic result predicts the absence of invasive carcinoma. Laryngeal stroboscopy can therefore be suggested as a useful supplemental examination in the standard diagnostic work-up for all patients with suspected glottic carcinoma.

Brush cytology with immunocytochemical evaluation of VEGF expression versus biopsy in clinically precancerous laryngeal lesions: can we diagnose laryngeal cancer only with brush cytology?

Introduction. Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is the most common SCC of the head and neck. The high incidence of this malignancy and the low survival rate necessitate the development of novel diagnostic approaches. Aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic value of laryngeal brush cytology combined with VEGF immunocytochemistry versus histopathology of clinically precancerous lesions of the larynx. Material and Methods. Thirty patients with precancerous or suspected malignant laryngeal lesions underwent microlaryngoscopy, during which samples were taken for cytological, immunocytochemical, and histological analysis. Cytology and histology results were classified as follows: benign lesions, atypia/moderate dysplasia, and malignancy, whereas the expression of VEGF was evaluated as strong, moderate, weak, and zero expression, based on the percentage of cells stained. Results. The cytology results were in accordance with the histology results in 86.7% of the patients. The exfoliative cytology's sensitivity was estimated at 85% and its specificity at 90%. Its positive prognostic value was 94%, while its negative prognostic value was 75%. The additional immunocytochemical evaluation of VEGF expression increased all the noted parameters. Discussion. Exfoliative cytology of laryngeal lesions is a minimal-invasive, easily applicable procedure during microlaryngoscopy and reliable in terms of diagnostic value. Under certain conditions it could be held also in local anesthesia. Concurrent immunocytochemical analysis of VEGF expression further enhances its diagnostic value.

Quantification of Vocal Fold Vibration in Various Laryngeal Disorders Using High-Speed Digital Imaging

OBJECTIVE

To quantify vibratory characteristics of various laryngeal disorders seen by high-speed digital imaging (HSDI).

METHODS

HSDI was performed on 78 patients with various laryngeal disorders (20 with polyp, 16 with carcinoma, 13 with leukoplakia, 6 with vocal fold nodule, and 33 with others) and 29 vocally healthy subjects. Obtained data were quantitatively evaluated by frame-by-frame analysis, laryngotopography, digital kymography, and glottal area waveform.

RESULTS

Overall, patients with laryngeal pathologies showed greater asymmetry in amplitude, mucosal wave and phase, smaller mucosal wave, and poorer glottal closure than vocally healthy subjects. Furthermore, disease-specific vibratory disturbances that generally agreed with the findings in the literature were quantified: comparing polyp with nodule, differences were noted in longitudinal phase difference, amplitude, and mucosal wave. In comparison with leukoplakia and cancer, nonvibrating area was more frequently noted in cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

The HSDI analysis of various voice disorders using multiple methods can help phonosurgeons to properly diagnose various laryngeal pathologies and to estimate the degree of their vocal disturbances.

European Laryngological Society: ELS recommendations for the follow-up of patients treated for laryngeal cancer

It is accepted that the follow-up of patients who had treatment for laryngeal cancer is a fundamental part of their care. The reasons of post-treatment follow-up include evaluation of treatment response, early identification of recurrence, early detection of new primary tumours, monitoring and management of complications, optimisation of rehabilitation, promotion smoking and excessive alcohol cessation, provision of support to patients and their families, patient counselling and education. Controversies exist in how these aims are achieved. Increasing efforts are being made to rationalise the structure and timing of head and neck cancer follow-up clinics. The aim of this document is to analyse the current evidence for the need to follow up patients who have been treated for LC and provide an up to date, evidence-based statement which is meaningful and applicable to all European Health Care Systems. A working group of the Head and Neck Cancer Committee of the ELS was constituted in 2009. A review of the current published literature on the management and follow-up of laryngeal cancer was undertaken and statements are made based on critical appraisal of the literature and best current evidence. Category recommendations were based on the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Statements include: length, frequency, setting, type of health professional, clinical assessment, screening investigations, patient's education, second primary tumours, and mode of treatment considerations including radiotherapy, chemo-radiation therapy, transoral surgery and open surgery. It also addresses specific recommendations regarding patients with persistent pain, new imaging techniques, tumour markers and narrow band imaging.

Vocal fold hyperplastic lesions: an evaluation of surgical outcome with videolaryngostroboscopy

BACKGROUND

Vocal fold hyperplastic lesions are premalignant lesions that can be treated effectively by removal of the lesions surgically.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to discuss the success of surgery in patients with vocal fold hyperplastic lesions in terms of preserving vibratory function by comparing the preoperative and postoperative videolaryngostroboscopy findings.

STUDY DESIGN

The medical charts and videolaryngostroboscopic recordings of patients diagnosed with hyperplastic lesions on the vocal folds were reviewed retrospectively.

METHODS

Twenty seven patients with unilateral lesions who underwent type1 subepithelial cordectomy were enrolled in the study. The videolaryngostroboscopic recordings were evaluated by three raters who were not the operating surgeon and who were blinded to the histology of patients. To evaluate the videolaryngostroboscopic findings, a form, which is a modification of criteria described by Hirano and Bless, was used. Preoperative and 6th month postoperative videolaryngostroboscopic recordings were compared with each other and with recordings of the control group, which included 50 healthy volunteers.

RESULTS

All videolaryngostroboscopic findings, except false cord vibration, were significantly improved after surgery.

CONCLUSION

The principle of vocal fold surgery in patients with benign lesions is to preserve the vibratory tissue. This principle also applies to patients with hyperplastic lesions that are premalignant. The hydrodissection technique may be beneficial for this purpose.