Epidermoid carcinoma of the floor of the mouth: surgical therapy vs combined therapy vs radiation therapy.

A retrospective analysis of 103 selected patients with floor-of-mouth epidermoid carcinoma compared the effectiveness of surgical therapy alone vs planned preoperative radiation combined therapy vs irradiation therapy. All three treatment methods appeared equally effective in irradicating stage I and II disease. Stage III floor-of-mouth epidermoid carcinoma was similarly controlled by either surgical therapy or combined therapy. Irradiation therapy alone was markedly inferior in treatment of stage III disease. Stage IV disease was poorly handled by any of the treatment methods. Histologic factors, tumor characteristics, tumor spread, nodal status, and staging did not appear in the majority of cases to significantly influence treatment selection or survival or both.