Recruiting

Laser Surgery vs. Radiation for Early Vocal Cord Cancer: Comparing Voice Quality

Plain-English translation of NCT04057209 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ · Source last updated October 2025 · Translation generated June 2026 · How we translate trials

What is this trial?

This study is testing two well-established treatments for early-stage vocal cord cancer: transoral CO2-laser surgery and single vocal cord radiation therapy. Both treatments work equally well at controlling the cancer, but doctors don't yet know which one preserves your voice quality better in the long term. This trial will randomly assign you to receive one treatment or the other, then carefully measure how your voice changes over time.

Although both laser surgery and radiation therapy are proven to treat early vocal cord cancer effectively, no large, properly designed study has directly compared them—especially when it comes to voice quality, which is critical to patients' quality of life. This trial exists to give doctors and patients clear evidence about which treatment is more likely to preserve a healthy voice.

Do you qualify?

You likely qualify if…

you are 18 years of age or older
you have been diagnosed with early-stage (stage 0 or I) cancer of the vocal cord on one side only
your cancer has been confirmed by biopsy and you have never received treatment for it
you are in good enough health to tolerate both surgery and radiation therapy
your tumor is located in a place where it can be safely removed by laser surgery with adequate margins
you have had baseline voice quality measurements taken before enrolling

You likely don't qualify if…

you have an active infection affecting your voice at the time of screening
your tumor involves the anterior commissure (the front center of the vocal cords)
you have previously received cancer surgery or radiation to your larynx
you have a history of voice disorders unrelated to your cancer that lasted longer than 3 weeks
you have another cancer diagnosis or a history of cancer within the past 3–5 years (with some exceptions)

What participation looks like

If you enroll, you will be randomly assigned to receive either laser microsurgery (performed in one day with a short hospital stay) or radiation therapy (daily outpatient visits over several weeks). Before and after treatment, your voice quality will be assessed using standardized voice tests and questionnaires. You will have follow-up visits to monitor your voice and ensure the cancer does not return, with detailed measurements of how your voice changes over time.

Laser Surgery vs. Radiation for Early Vocal Cord Cancer: Comparing Voice Quality

What is this trial?

Do you qualify?

What participation looks like

Trial locations(4 sites)