Comparative analysis of voice in diagnostics of T1 and T2 vocal cord carcinoma

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dysphonia is the most frequent symptom of vocal cord carcinoma In the diagnostics of the disease subjective and objective methods of examination (acoustic analysis of a voice signal) and a laryngostroboscopy and aerodynamic exam­ination are used. METHODS: Our clinical prospective study consisted of 40 male patients, who had malignant tumors of one vocal cord - right or left. All the patients underwent otorhino-laryngological and phoniatric examination. The quality of voice was evaluated and estimated according to the 4-level GIRBAS scale (grade-instability-roughness-breathi-ness-asthenic-strain). Aerodynamic analysis dealt with vital capacity (VC), maximum phonation time (MPT) and phonation quotient (PQ). RESULTS: Vibration of vocal cord did not exist in 60% of cases. Instability and strained voice was present in 100% of cases. Mean average value of phonation quotient was 303.33 ml/s. The influence of roughness (R), instability (I), asthenic (A), and strain (S) on the total degree of dysphonia (G), was in all cases in a significantly positive correlation with the level of statistic significance p<0.01 for I, R and S and level p<0.05 for A. Nonvibration of a vocal cord had significant influence on the grade of dysphonia and strain (negative correlation, level p<0.01), and on the instability (negative correlation, level p<0.01). Maximum phonation time had statistically significant influence (negative correlation) on the phonation quotient. CONCLUSION: The voices of all patients who had glottal carcinoma T1 and T2 were psychoacoustically characterized by strain and instability of phonation. It is certain that a patient has glottal carcinoma if he/she has values of phonation quotient higher than 300 ml/s, nonvibration of a vocal cord in laryngostroboscopy and strained voice in psychoacoustic analysis.

Keywords

• voice disorders
• speech acoustics
• laryngeal neoplasms
• vocal cords