title: Recurrence interval affects survival after local relapse of oral cancer.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the recurrence interval influenced survival rate of patients with relapse of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). From 1992 to 2006, a total of 773 patients with OSCC treated at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery of the Ruhr-University Bochum were reviewed. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, receiver operating characteristic, the Youden-Index and analysis using the log-rank test and Cox-regression. The overall recurrence rate was 23.9%. Local recurrence was more common (64.9%) than locoregional recurrence (25.1%). Patients with relapse more than 18 months after completion of their primary treatment had significantly improved survival rates compared with those who relapsed within 18 months of initial treatment (20.5% vs 42.3%). A significant difference was noted in the survival rate between patients with local and locoregional recurrence (37.5% vs 21.5%). Overall survival rate after salvage was 31.9%. The interval from initial treatment to recurrence is an independent prognostic factor for OSCC patients. Patients with a recurrence interval of 18 months had a statistically significant higher probability of death than those with a recurrence interval >18 months. This information can help inform salvage treatment strategies and provide a classification of early and late recurrences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Klinikum Rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Ismaninger Strasse 22, Munich, Germany. th.mucke@gmx.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mücke
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wagenpfeil
authors.forename: Marco R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kesting
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hölzle
authors.forename: Klaus-Dietrich
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Wolff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors