Carcinoma of the oral tongue: a case series analysis of prognostic factors and surgical outcomes.

PURPOSE: To identify factors affecting the clinical course and survival of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred thirty-eight patients who were treated with surgical excision of primary tongue cancer and neck dissection were analyzed retrospectively. The study had a median follow-up period of 23 months. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses for prognostic risk factors were performed using the Cox regression method. Survival curves were processed with the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS: The 138 patients (73 male, 65 female) had a median age of 60 years. The 5-year overall, disease-specific, and relapse-free survival rates were 81%, 73%, and 71%, respectively. Tumor thickness greater than 8 mm was the only independent prognostic factor indicating a poor prognosis in overall survival (P = .049). Presence of involved lymph nodes indicated a tendency toward a poorer prognosis in disease-specific survival (P = .026) and relapse-free survival (P = .043).

CONCLUSIONS: The present findings indicated that tumor thickness greater than 8 mm and lymph node metastasis were independent predictors of worse survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Because similar regional recurrence rates were observed in selective and radical neck dissections, supraomohyoid neck dissection is supported as a primary treatment for patients with clinical N0 tumor.