Abstract
The results of a clinical study on 44 patients aged over 75 years with oral squamous cell carcinoma were reported. This group formed 23.4% of 188 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma treated at our clinic between 1983 and 1997. The patients consisted of 18 males and 26 females with a mean age of 81.6 years. Tumors were most frequently located in the upper gingiva (14 cases), followed by the lower gingiva (12 cases), tongue and buccal mucosa (8 cases) and floor of the mouth (2 cases). Seventy-five percent of the patients had major medical illness. The main treatment was surgery in 30 patients and radiotherapy in 13 patients. The one patient received only chemotherapy. The 3-year and 5-year survival rates calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method were 59.8% and 46.5% respectively. Prognosis was poor in inoperable patients with advanced tumor.
