Outcome of tongue cancer treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy

Abstract

A retrospective analysis of 263 patients with previously untreated squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue between 2000 and 2010 was performed. Those patients, who received preoperative chemotherapy, had a history of head and neck cancer or had previously received radiotherapy for the other disease, were excluded. All patients underwent a surgical procedure as a part of the initial treatment. Patients with close or microscopically involved margins of resection, INF (Infiltrative growth pattern) gamma or at least two involved nodes were classified as high risk patients. Postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) was undertaken for the high risk patients. After a median follow-up of 72 months, the 5-year overall survival and 5-year cause-specific survival were as follows: 79.1%, 85.0% in all stages, 82.7%, 91.2% in Stage I (n = 76), 86.7%, 89.0% in Stage II (n = 98), 71.5%, 78.6% in Stage III (n = 57), and 61.5%, 69.1% in Stage IV (n = 32). Patients without high risk features had significantly higher overall survival rate than those in the case of high risk patients, despite receiving no PORT. For high risk patients, PORT significantly improved the locoreginal control rate, but the overall survival rate did not improve.