title: Histopathological findings after preoperative chemo-radiotherapy in oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma. A study of 28 resected specimens.
abstract: Serial sections of whole surgical specimens from 28 patients with locally advanced oral carcinoma were examined to assess the histopathological effects of a preoperative intravenous (i.v.) chemotherapy and radiotherapy protocol. In 15 cases (54%), no residual neoplastic tissue was found: in 9, the tumour area showed a dense hyalinised connective tissue, whereas in the other 6 cases foci of keratotic material were surrounded by a foreign body-type reaction. In 13 patients (46%), residual neoplastic tissue was observed: small fields of tumour were present in 6 cases, whereas tumour was widely persistent in 7. Lymph node metastases were observed in 9 cases (32%), with extracapsular spreading in 6 (21%). In 93% of cases, pathological staging on the specimen was more favourable than the clinical preoperative staging. 23 patients (82%) are alive without evidence of disease 30-55 months after surgery; 10 (43%) did not show any residual neoplastic tissue in the specimen; 10 patients (43%) showed persistence of tumour, but in 5 (21%) only small fields of tumour were observed. 4 patients (14%) died due to their tumour. The pathological data show that this protocol is successful in the treatment of advanced oral carcinoma; furthermore, they provide reliable information about the response to therapy and the subsequent course of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Biomediche e Oncologia Umana, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vercellino
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Corradi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tardy
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bertetto
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pomatto
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palestro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil