title: The determining risk factors for treatment outcomes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hard palate.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The determining risk factors for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hard palate are not well verified.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records from our facility of all patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hard palate receiving curative surgery between March 2003 and May 2009 were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-eight patients were enrolled in the study. The 5 year disease-free and overall survival rates were 49.8 and 49.7%, respectively. The 5 year disease-free and overall survival rates were statistically different between positive/close margins and negative margins (24.6% vs. 65.4%, P = 0.02; 20.1% vs. 63.1%, P = 0.001, respectively), with and without soft palate invasion (38.8% vs. 68.9%, P = 0.02; 27.4% vs. 77.5%, P = 0.001, respectively), and soft palate invasion patients with and without perineural invasion (10.4% vs. 52.8%, P = 0.02; 0% vs. 38.1%, P = 0.008, respectively). The rate of positive nodal metastasis for T3 and T4 tumors was 44%. For the tumor with soft palate invasion, the rate of positive nodal metastasis was 29%. After multivariate analyses, soft palate invasion and positive/close margins were the determining risk factors for disease-free and overall survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Soft palate invasion and positive/close margins were the determining risk factors for disease-free and overall survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hard palate. Elective neck dissection is suggested for advanced primary tumors (T3 or T4) or tumors with soft palate invasion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fan-Yu
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Jeng-Yuh
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Pei-Jen
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Cheng-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tsung-Lin
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chun-Hsiang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Yih-Leong
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Tseng-Cheng
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010157:Palatal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome