Tongue cancer treated with brachytherapy: is thickness of tongue cancer a prognostic factor for regional control?
BACKGROUND
We aimed to investigate the predisposing factor for lymph node metastasis and examine the influence of thickness for lymph node recurrence in oral tongue cancer.


METHODS
We analysed 254 patients with early oral tongue cancer (T1-2N0) who were treated with brachytherapy from 1967 through 1985.


RESULTS
T category (p = 0.005), and thickness (p = 0.04) were identified as a significant predisposing factors for neck failure. 50%, 40% and 30% were the incidences of lymph node metastasis for patients with thickness of tumor more than 11 mm, 6-10 mm and 5 mm or less. Furthermore, T category (largest diameter of lesion) correlates strongly to thickness of tumor.


CONCLUSIONS
Although it is not an independent factor, thickness is a significant predisposing factor for lymph node metastasis.
Yamazaki
H
H
Department of Radiation Oncology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
Inoue
T
T
Teshima
T
T
Tanaka
E
E
Koizumi
M
M
Kagawa
K
K
Imai
A
A
Yoshida
K
K
Shiomi
H
H
Shimizutani
K
K
Furukawa
S
S
Fuchihata
H
H
Nakamura
H
H
Inoue
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001918:Brachytherapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*