Abstract
One hundred forty-eight patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx treated at the division of the head and neck surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital from 1962 through 1979 were reviewed and treatment results of 146 cases were analysed. The primary lesion was located in the lateral wall in 86 patients, the anterior wall in 41, the superior wall in 15 and the posterior wall in 6. The overall five-year crude survival rate was 45%.
The five-year survival rate according to TNM classification (UICC 1978) was 82% in stage I (21 cases), 52% in stage II (27 cases), stage III 42% in (52 cases) and 21% in stage IV (31 cases) respectively. Remaining four cases were treated as cases of primary unkown cervical metastasis. One hundred and seventeen patients were treated with radiation therapy, 28 with surgery and one with chemotherapy. Secondary treatment for residual or recurrent tumor was performed in 36 cases and 6 patients were survived for 5 years.
Analysis of these series supports the recommendation that radiation therapy is the treatment of choice for early stage of oropharyngeal cancer, whereas surgical excision plus radiation should be employed in advanced cases.
