title: Surgical treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A controversy still exists regarding the preferable mode of treatment - surgical treatment or radiotherapy of 1st stage squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip. That is why we have set as a
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the two methods of treatment and to propose a therapeutic approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective longitudinal study of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lower lip from three regions in South Bulgaria (Plovdiv, Pazardjik and Smolian), who have been treated primarily with surgical operation (n=184) or by radiotherapy (n=592) was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following up 184 patients who have undergone surgical treatment (vermilionectomy) as a primary therapeutic method for a period of 15 years, we have observed favourable results in 92.5% of the cases (n=170). We found local recurrences in 3.1% of the cases (n=6) and regional lymph-node metastases in 4.4% of the cases (n=8). Five-year overall survival rates was 81% and 10-year survival rates - 64%. The corresponding relapse-free five-year survival was 89% and ten-year survival - 82%. The results from the 592 patients treated with radiotherapy are: therapeutically cured - 90.5% of the cases (n=536), local recurrences - 4.3% of the cases (n=25) and regional lymph-node metastases (n=31.)
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vermilionectomy is a suitable method for surgical treatment of 1st-stage SCC of the lower lip with a thickness of the tumour up to 3 mm and a size of the primary tumour up to 1.5 cm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Higher Medical Institute, Plovdiv, Faculty of Dentistry, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Sarachev
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Ananostev
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008048:Lip Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis