Surgery alone for squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity: survival rates, recurrence patterns, and salvage treatment

Abstract

Conclusion: Surgery alone may be a reliable and feasible treatment of choice in selected patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity, given the proper indications.

Objective: To evaluate the results of treatment of oral cavity SCC patients with surgery alone in a single institution.

Patients and methods: Between 1992 and 2004, 76 patients with previously untreated SCC of the oral cavity who had surgery alone without any other adjuvant treatment modalities were included in our study.

Results: The 5-year overall rate, disease-specific survival rates, and locoregional control rate of all 76 patients were 69%, 83%, and 73%, respectively. A total of 16 patients (21%) presented with recurrences (8 with regional recurrences, 5 with local, 2 with locoregional, and 1 with distant metastasis). Four (6%) of the patients with primary T1 or T2 stage and one (50%) of those with T4 stage had recurrence at the primary site. The regional recurrence rate of patients with < or = N1 and > or = N2b was 10% (6 of 59) and 67% (2 of 3), respectively. Three of four patients who had recurrence at the primary site and attempted salvage treatment have been cured. However, only one of five patients with nodal recurrence and salvage treatment has recovered.