Surgical outcome in patients with oral verrucous carcinoma: long-term follow-up in an endemic betel quid chewing area.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical features and prognosis of patients with oral verrucous carcinoma (OVC) in an endemic betel quid chewing area.


METHODS
A retrospective review was conducted in 39 patients with OVC treated surgically from 1991 to 2002.


RESULTS
Thirty-seven patients (94.9%) were male. The median age at diagnosis was 53.8 years. All patients had been exposed to betel quid, cigarette smoking, and/or alcohol. The most common site of tumor origin was the buccal mucosa (64.1%). The tumor control rate was 97.4% after the first surgical procedure. Second/multiple primary tumors (SPTs/MPTs) were found in 21 patients. There were 13 deaths during the follow-up period, with SPTs/MPTs being the most common cause. The cancer-specific survival rate was 89.1% at 5 years, but continued to decrease thereafter.


CONCLUSIONS
Surgery was effective for controlling OVC. However, long-term follow-up was necessary because of the high incidence of SPTs/MPTs and its impact on patient survival.
Huang
Tung-Tsun
TT
Department of Otolaryngology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Taipei Branch, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hsu
Lee-Ping
LP
Hsu
Yung-Hsiang
YH
Chen
Peir-Rong
PR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000401:mortality; D001114:Areca / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018289:Carcinoma, Verrucous / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000601:surgery; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000401:mortality; D015996:Survival Rate; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology