title: Early tongue carcinoma: analysis of failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Failure rate of surgery for early tongue carcinoma remains high. We sought to identify patterns of failure and recurrence risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data review was carried out on 50 patients treated for early tongue carcinoma (T1/2N0M0); surgery was unsuccessful in 11 of these patients. All patients underwent transoral resection of the tongue tumor and prophylactic neck dissection (supraomohyoid).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tumor recurred within 3 to 18 months. Nine died of disease. Four had failure in neck level 4, 6 in level 1, and 1 simultaneously in level 1 and locally. Most tumors were moderately differentiated. Average depth was 6.64 mm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report 11 patients with early tongue carcinoma who failed local excision with neck dissection. Failures occurred in level 4 (4 patients) and level 1 (7 patients). This group may benefit from extended neck surgery. Sex, age, stage, and depth of tumor were not significantly different in the group with treatment failure. Tumors in the group with treatment failure were more poorly differentiated.
authors: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petach Tikva, Israel.
authors: Michal
authors: M
authors: Preis
authors: Tuvia
authors: T
authors: Hadar
authors: Ethan
authors: E
authors: Soudry
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Shpitzer
authors: Yulia
authors: Y
authors: Strenov
authors: Roy
authors: R
authors: Hod
authors: Ben I
authors: BI
authors: Nageris
authors: Raphael
authors: R
authors: Feinmesser