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External beam irradiation alone or combined with neck dissection for base of tongue carcinoma: An alternative to primary surgery
Author(s) -
Hinerman Russell W.,
Parsons James T.,
Mendenhall William M.,
Million Rodney R.,
Stringer Scott P.,
Cassisi Nicholas J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-199412000-00007
Subject(s) - medicine , neck dissection , stage (stratigraphy) , radiation therapy , surgery , dissection (medical) , tongue , cancer , carcinoma , primary tumor , metastasis , paleontology , pathology , biology
From 1964 to 1990, 134 patients were treated at the University of Florida with continuous‐course external beam irradiation, alone or followed by a planned neck dissection, for T1 (n = 17), T2 (n = 47), T3 (n = 49), or T4 (n = 21) carcinoma of the base of tongue. The 5‐year rate of local control was 90% for stage T1, 92% for T2, 73% for T3, and 35% for T4. Probability of control above the clavicles at 5 years according to modified American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage was 100% for stages I and II, 75% for stage III, 84% for stage IVa, and 52% for stage IVb. Probability of relapse‐free survival at 5 years was 100% for stages I and II, 68% for stage III, 81% for stage IVa, and 37% for stage IVb. Severe complications occurred in 2% of patients. Compared with surgical resection of the primary tumor, external beam radiotherapy results in similar rates of local control and survival with a lower risk of severe complications.