title: Treatment results for 84 patients with base of tongue cancer.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  For T2 tumors, surgery was indicated if functional preservation was possible. For T3/T4 tumors, the rate of primary disease control was not high and surgery frequently involved total laryngectomy. Points that surgeons must heed when performing such surgery were delineated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Because tumors originating from the base of the tongue are rare, few large-scale studies of such tumors have been performed. We reviewed treatments and outcomes at our department to establish effective future therapeutic plans.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1971 to 2000, 84 patients with previously untreated and resectable squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue were treated at the Head and Neck Department of the Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo. Treatment selection and results were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main treatment options were radiotherapy for primary lesions < or = T2 and surgery for primary lesions > or = T3. Overall disease-specific 5-year cumulative survival rate was 59.8%, but there was no significant difference in survival rate at each stage between the two treatments. Among patients who died of the primary disease, the area that was most difficult to control was the superior margin of the lateral wall of the oropharynx (n=7). The incidence of contralateral or retropharyngeal lymph node metastasis was low if tumors neither crossed the midline nor infiltrated the lateral wall. While total laryngectomy was performed on 48 patients, the larynx was operatively preserved in 5 T3 patients and one T4 patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck, Cancer Institute Hospital, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, 3-10-6 Ariake Koutou-ku, Tokyo, Japan. seyosimoto@jfcr.or.jp
authors.forename: Seiichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mitani
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yonekawa
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beppu
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007012:Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D007825:Laryngectomy; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery