Histopathologic study of the oral squamous cell carcinoma. VIII. A clinicopathologic study of autopsy cases of carcinoma of the tongue

Abstract

Forty-two autopsy cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile portion (anterior 2/3) of the tongue was reviewed clinicopathologically and the causes of the failure were studied retrospectively. Thirteen primary lesions (31.0%), even of the T3, T4 stage, were controlled by radiation therapy alone or with chemotherapy, and the effectiveness of the radiation therapy was evaluated. The recurrent tumor, frequently developing from regional lymph node metastases, was resistant to the theray and tended to manifest continuous and diffuse extention, forming a bullky neck tumor. The management of the neck tumor was the most important problem. Rupture of the neck vessels (7.1%) was one of the most serious complications. The incidence of the metastases was higher than that reported in literature. The metastases to the lymph nodes below the level of the clavicle were seen in 42.9% and the hematogenous metastases occurred in 61.9%. Pulmonary infection was the most common complication, being the main direct cause of death in the cachetic state. Five hundred and eighty-four autopsy cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile portion and the base of the tongue collected from the Annual of Pathological Autopsy Cases in Japan were also analyzed.