Cancer of the mobile tongue. Therapeutic development and results
Brasnu, D.; Lacau Saint-Guily, J.; Parpounas, C.; Fabre, A.; Laccourreye, H.
Annales d'Oto-Laryngologie et de Chirurgie Cervico Faciale Bulletin de la Societe d'Oto-Laryngologie des Hopitaux de Paris 101(8): 573-578
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-438X PMID: 6534248 Document Number: 224844
The authors analyse the results of treatment of 84 squamous cell carcinomas of the mobile portion of the tongue treated between 1961 and 1982. 64% of the patients treated were Stage I or II. The local recurrence rate was 13% at 5 years (6/43) for T1, T2. Recurrences were more frequent after interstitial radium therapy (17% at 5 years: 5/28) than after partial glossectomy performed at the outset (6.6% : 1.15). The treatment of stage NO remains controversial. The frequency of lymph node recurrences remains proportional to lymph node involvement by histology (NO, N-: no recurrences; NO, N+: 18.1%: 6/33) but seemed to be independent of the initial treatment of the regional nodes: no treatment, neck dissection with or without subsequent external radiotherapy. It is important to emphasize that lymph node recurrences contralateral to the tumour always occurred in the presence of initial homolateral lymphadenopathy with capsular rupture. Other oncological failures were frequent (35% : 20/56) at 5 years, grouping together visceral metastases (14.3% : 8/56) and second primary cancers in the upper respiratory/digestive tract (21.4% : 12/56).